OTTAWA -- The locals proclaim this Ottawa River nape of the Ontario-Quebec border as Hockey Country for its esteemed junior teams, the Ottawa 67s and the Gatineau Olympiques, plus the NHL franchise with the old-hockey history, the Ottawa Senators.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Sidney Crosby, the expected No. 1 draft pick for the Penguins, sign autographs during pre-draft events in Ottawa. Click photo for larger image. NHL ENTRY DRAFT When: Noon, today. Where: Ottawa. TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh (noon-1 p.m.)/WPGB-FM (104.7) and WBGG-AM (970). The format: The order of the first round will be inverted in the second, then revert to the first-round order in the third, and so on throughout each succeeding round of the draft. Related coverage Penguins to open new era by drafting Crosby 'Bruiser' impresses scouts with feistiness, many skills NHL Notebook: Rangers buy out final 2 years of Holik deal

Might as well rechristen it Crosby Country because a standing-room-only crowd of 1,200 crammed yesterday into the Senators' fancy, new practice facility merely to watch this 17-year-old help to give a hockey clinic to a bunch of school kids.

Then another 200 or so trooped to Major's Hill Park at noon so they could watch him ascend a stage with 20 other top prospects for NHL Entry Draft today. But mostly they came to see firsthand the special center they've watched on Canadian television for years, thereby rendering the pretty place with the green-topped Parliament buildings backdrop as a Major Thrill Park.

As announcer Dean Brown from sports-talk 1200 The Team sarcastically began to describe, "He was a virtual unknown when he was 3 ... "

Everyone knows about Sidney Crosby in hockey's homeland.

"I don't even know who the Prime Minister is," said Kristina Erwin, 16, of Brockville, Ontario.

"Neither do I," added sister Brittany, 14, almost proudly.

Yet there they were yesterday, straining through the five-deep masses to get the autograph of the mop-haired hockey kid apparently more famous in parts of these provinces than the nation's elected leader.

The affinity for the 5-foot-11, 193-pound lad from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League -- a player who'll be plucked by the Penguins with the first pick in this draft -- is easily described by the aforementioned teenage girls.

"He's kind of hot," Kristina said. "And he's amazing on the ice."

This Canadian crush falls across both sexes, across all age groups, across even species. Fathers and mothers brought daughters and sons, down to sleeping babes. Teenage boys brought girlfriends. Husbands and wives spent quality time together at the Bell Sensplex hockey rink in suburban Kanata, across the way from the Corel Centre, or the Downtown park. They all wanted to see Sidney, get him to sign something, soak up his presence. A couple of people even brought their dogs.

		DRAFT ORDER Today's First Round 1. Penguins 2. Mighty Ducks, Anaheim 3. Carolina Hurricanes 4. Minnesota Wild 5. Montreal Canadiens 6. Columbus Blue Jackets 7. Chicago Blackhawks 8. Atlanta Thrashers 9. Ottawa Senators 10. Vancouver Canucks 11. Los Angeles Kings 12. San Jose Sharks 13. Buffalo Sabres 14. Washington Capitals 15. New York Islanders 16. New York Rangers 17. Phoenix Coyotes 18. Nashville Predators 19. Detroit Red Wings 20. Philadelphia Flyers 21. Toronto Maple Leafs 22. Boston Bruins 23. New Jersey Devils 24. St. Louis Blues 25. Edmonton Oilers 26. Calgary Flames 27. Colorado Avalanche 28. Dallas Stars 29. Florida Panthers 30. Tampa Bay Lightning

When he was announced to the Bell Sensplex crowd at 10 a.m., the crowd broke into raucous cheers at simply "Si ... "

Nicholas Berthiaume, 10, an Ottawa boy wearing an old-style Penguins No. 66 jersey, was asked from his front-row perch to explain the impending Crosby phenomenon to a Pittsburgher. After his uncle translated from English to French, the boy arrived at this: "Definitely, they're going to make the playoffs this year."

Crosby, in that hour-long clinic, gave a brief view of his character and his ability. When a kid accidentally knocked an orange cone off its mark, Crosby simply pushed it back into place with his stick blade. When the six-person relay race came down to the adult anchor legs, Crosby merely made up a quarter-rink deficit and zoomed past Senators defenseman Chris Phillips along the side boards to win the contest.

"I tried to give him a little hook there, but I couldn't do it," Phillips said. Asked if he felt a common bond with Crosby, being the first pick of the 1996 NHL draft, Phillips added: "I don't know if I was on the same scale he is. Right now, it's all about Sidney."

Among the folks who came to watch the park proceedings were top-rung player agent J.P. Barry and scouts from Vancouver and Edmonton.

Oilers scout Bob Brown, the father of former Penguins winger Robbie Brown, stood near the back of the park pack. He had witnessed Crosby up close and personal in the Quebec League.

"Certainly, he has the skill level," Brown said. "The thing I see is the maturity, the composure he has. Nothing seems to faze him.

"So much expectation, these [Canadian hockey fans] have heard so much about him since he was a youngster. He's had to grow up really quick."

Grow up to become bigger than the PM.

Whose name, by the way, is Paul Martin.