CRANBERRY — Sidney Crosby wouldn’t leave the ice after practice. Nor would rookies Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel, and Sam Poulin. More than half a dozen players remained on the ice well after the lengthy 90-minute practice, playing more games and generally enjoying hockey.
Even though Kindel and Brunicke were not yet born when Crosby made his NHL debut, it was just like old times.
“Yeah, yeah. We don’t get too many days to just get on the ice. (We) spend a lot of time out there playing every other day, and never actually nice to be able to do (have fun),” Sidney Crosby said.
Once upon a time, Penguins youngsters Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury essentially made hockey their life, and a good chunk of their social life, too.
Several years ago, former Penguins coach Michel Therrien recounted having to turn off the lights at the practice rink to force the “kids” off the ice; otherwise, they would remain on their playground all day.
And so it was Wednesday, as Crosby rolled into the locker room, preceded only momentarily by Brunicke and Kindel, that the ghosts of the past merged with the youthful energy of the present.
“I think, definitely, having youthful energy–I think it’s something that’s contagious. You can inject a lot of that into a team,” Crosby told PHN. “So I think just the enthusiasm and the hunger and the fun day to day. I think that is a big factor for sure.”
It would be impossible if not silly to attribute the Penguins strong start exclusively to youth. That would be an insult to the near-40 year olds who still inhabit the top of the lineup and are performing at typical (read: elite) levels.
It would also be a disservice to the handful of new players, such as Anthony Mantha and Parker Wotherspoon, who are galloping at career-high paces.
But the youth sure hasn’t hurt. Finding an energetic third-line center like Ben Kindel, whose hockey smarts have put pucks on the sticks of his wingers in prime scoring areas throughout the season, as he, too, has notched five goals.
“That’s a good thing, you know? I would rather (players stay on the ice) than guys that just want to get out of here. Like, the guys truly love the game,” said coach Dan Muse. “And I think the young guys definitely add to it, but the veteran guys also — they add to it a ton, too, because they’re showing those young guys you can be doing this for 20 years and you can still love the stuff after practice and being on the ice.
“And those are things that are fun and you want to see that. I don’t know if that’s the case everywhere.”
When Poulin makes his season debut, presumably on Friday, he will be the eighth rookie to suit up for the Penguins this season, a number that leads the league.
Muse broke into a big smile when talking about his team and the mix of guys still on the ice after practice. After all, he, too, is a rink rat noted to spend all day at the facility.
“I think you see (the youthful influence). I also think it’s a mix. You’ve got a group of guys–some guys that have been doing this for 20 plus years and other guys that are first year in the league, and they just all love the game and I’ll tell you the biggest thing that stands out for me, when you’re seeing what goes on after practice it’s like sometimes we’ve got to put like a stop clock on practice, ‘like, all right, this has been enough.’”
There is an undeniable freshness in the Penguins locker room–Crosby didn’t hesitate to talk about it. Without insulting or downgrading the past, it sure looks and sounds like the kids and the old guys are actually having some fun.
Muse hasn’t yet had to turn off the lights, but we’re guessing there’s a better chance he’d join them than chase them. And this Penguins season of renewal continues.
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