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Penguins Q&A: Sidney Crosby
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The NHL lockout has wiped out training camp and early games in the 2012-13 season, but readers can keep up with the Penguins with an occasional question-and- answer session. First up is center and team captain Sidney Crosby, the face of the NHL. Because of a concussion and neck injury dating to the Winter Classic Jan. 1, 2011, he has played in just 63 games, plus the six-game loss to the Flyers in the playoffs in April, over the past two seasons. He's healthy now and skating with some teammates fairly regularly at Southpointe.
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Q: What are you doing in your spare time during the lockout?
A: I've been watching the baseball playoffs. I don't really have a baseball team [I follow], but it's been exciting. And I've kept busy with my house [being built here]. It's getting closer, but it still keeps me busy, picking out all that stuff. It's a lot of stuff to think about. You don't realize it when you're going into it. I'm finding that out right now. That tells you how things are [with no season] -- that's the joy of my day right there.
Q: Do you follow and keep up with the young stars coming up, guys like 2013 draft-class leaders Nathan MacKinnon from your hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and Seth Jones, or 15-year-old Connor McDavid, who is playing in Erie?
A: I find it's a little bit harder to keep track here. In Canada, they're under a microscope a little more, especially from a young age. In Canada, they constantly show highlights from their games. But I try. I'm interested in seeing young guys coming up, especially Nathan from my hometown. It's easy to relate. It's very similar to what I went through.
Q: Did you see that Philadelphia's Claude Giroux, pictured had offseason surgery on both wrists and said it was from you slashing him in the faceoff circle during the playoffs?
A: Yeah. That was hilarious. I don't know. I didn't think I slashed him that hard. I just think he's looking for a reason to say something about me.
Q: Can you describe how good a shape you are in, and how would it compare with how you felt just before you got hurt, a stretch that included a 25-game point streak?
A: It's really hard to tell without playing, to tell where you're at. But I feel like practice-wise and off the ice, I'm where I need to be. The funny thing is, when I look back to last year, I felt like I was at that point [when I came back late in the season], but I really wasn't. Now, after a good summer working out, it feels a lot better. I'm not bigger. I've probably lost a few pounds because I've had five months to train. I started late May. I don't ever remember having five months. Leading up to when I got hurt, that was the best shape I'd been in, the best I've probably felt.
Q: Do you cook?
A: I do a little bit, yeah. I try to keep it simple. I cook a lot more in the summer when there's a lot more time. A lot of chicken and fish, stuff that's pretty easy. That's my go-to. I try to eat pretty healthy.
Q: What's your favorite meal?
A: Breakfast. I like a big brunch or breakfast. I like to make it, too. I like to make omelets and stuff like that. I'm a big breakfast guy. As for the kind of omelet, as much as you can put in there. Anything and everything. That's my favorite.
First Published October 18, 2012 12:00 am
