Sep 14, 2005 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Now, it’s just hockey for Sidney Crosby. Finally.

After three months of spinning lottery balls, preordained status as the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, endless comparisons to Wayne Gretzky and new housemate Mario Lemieux, million-dollar endorsement signings and more photo shoots than a supermodel, Crosby was on the ice Tuesday.

It was only an optional skate at the end of a training camp day devoted mostly to physicals, team meetings, handshaking, equipment fitting and, yes, more interviews, but Sidney Crosby, hockey wunderkind, finally felt like a Pittsburgh Penguins player.

The NHL, his goal since he first pulled on skates at age 3, is a reality.

“This is what I’m here to do and I’m very excited,” Crosby said, his every word captured by a sizable contingent of mostly Canadian media members. “It’s been busy, busier than normal with the lottery and the draft, so it’s going to be nice to get into a routine and get on the ice every day. That’s the fun part.”

The hard part, he knows, is just ahead. Now that he has reached the top rung of a sport he has dominated at every level to date, the game is about to become much more difficult, perhaps a blur at first, even for an 18-year-old with seemingly endless energy, ability and motivation.

“I have to get used to the size and speed of the guys – the hooks are going to be stronger, the guys are going to hit harder, the game’s faster,” Crosby said. “Reaction’s a big part of my game, so I have to be quick out there. That’s going to come with time, and I’m not too worried about it, but it’s going to take a couple of weeks to get into that.”

Lemieux, the Penguins owner-player, came into the league in 1984 with ability and a reputation arguably greater than Crosby’s. To Crosby, a fortuitous sequence of events has landed him on Lemieux’s team, perhaps even on Lemieux’s line, and, at least for now, in Lemieux’s very house.

Crosby moved in last week, eager to learn from the only active player in his sport who can relate to what he’s about to go through as hockey’s cover-boy rookie. There’s no curfew in the Lemieux household and, so far, no reason to have one; with about 20 players in town late last week, the mentor and his student took part in early morning workouts at a suburban rink, then went home to await the arrival from school of Lemieux’s four children, ages 9-12.

“He’s easy to get along with, he’s chatty, he talks all the time, he gets along great with the kids and the kids love him and have a good time with him,” said Lemieux, who looked outside last week to find Crosby playing driveway hockey with son Austin and daughter Stephanie. “We spend a lot of time together, drive everywhere and have dinner together every night. It’s just a normal day for the both of us.”

Normal, of course, being relative when talking about one of hockey’s greatest players ever and someone who aspires to become that.

“Just being around him is going to help me – the little questions about things in town, where things are, just seeing about how he goes about things every day,” Crosby said. “On the ice, it’s good for me to see some of these older guys who’ve been in the league for a lot of years and see how they practice, just get into good habits. Being around those guys, it’s going to rub off.”

Asked if Crosby is getting a break by joining a “respectable” team, Lemieux quickly replied, “Respectable? … We have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.”

For now, the Penguins are doing everything they can to get Crosby settled in quickly, and not just in Lemieux’s spare bedroom. His first NHL linemates, if only in a training camp game on Thursday, will be Mark Recchi and John LeClair. The two have 838 goals between them.

“Good enough?” coach Eddie Olczyk said, querying a group of reporters about his choice.

For Crosby, this is as good as it gets.

“Having a good camp, that’s what I’m worried about now, and raising my game to the highest it can be,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenge and I understand that, but I’m coming here ready to work hard and see what happens.”