Nova Scotia’s hockey hero says he is excited to bring the Stanley Cup home to his native Cole Harbour next week.
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks in six games in June to capture their fourth championship in franchise history. Crosby was also named MVP of the playoffs after scoring six goals and 13 assists in 24 games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain will parade the Stanley Cup through Cole Harbour on July 16.
“Being able to share with people here, it’s going to be really exciting to have it and should be busy, but should be a lot of fun,” he told CTV Atlantic in an exclusive interview.
“Hopefully lots of people will be happy to see it.”
The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. and is expected to last roughly 45 minutes, rain or shine.
It will start at the Saint John XXIII Church on 35 Colby Drive, then proceed north on Cumberland Drive, continuing across Cole Harbour Road onto Forest Hills Parkway. It will then proceed north along the Parkway and end at Cole Harbour Place.
“When Sid gets there we’ll have a stage set up where he can do a Q&A,” says Paul Mason, Crosby’s former hockey coach and organizer of the Sidney Crosby Hockey School.
Mason says the hockey star believes in giving back to his hometown.
“He says he’s from Cole Harbour. He’s very proud of his community. He grew up here and his minor hockey was with Cole Harbour Minor Hockey Association, so I would say that would be a major part of it.”
“He’s very authentic. He’s a true Nova Scotian and anything that he has to celebrate, he wants to bring back to the kids,” says fan Anthony MacNeil.
This won’t be the first time Cole Harbour has welcomed the Stanley Cup; Crosby brought it home in 2009, and so did former Stanley Cup champion Joe DiPenta in 2007.
“Got to do a parade through the hometown and we did a detour up the street where I played hockey, got to show it off to the neighbours,” says DiPenta. “I used to ruin their lawns when I was growing up, so they were all out on their driveways cheering me on, so it was pretty moving and a day I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
Halifax Transit will be offering free shuttles to Cole Harbour Place the day of the event.
Click here for more information about the event.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Allan April
