COLE HARBOUR, Nova Scotia -- As a young man, Sidney Crosby hardly ever walked the streets of his hometown.
He either spent his time at the rink or school, or playing street hockey in front of his parents' house or in a parking lot of a local church.
For the second time in his NHL career, the 28-year-old captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins strolled those same streets of Cole Harbour on Friday and Saturday with the Stanley Cup in hand for all to see and enjoy. After all, he said it was this community, its people and his family that helped shape him into the person he is today, which is arguably the greatest hockey player in the world.
On June 12, he helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup with a victory over the San Jose Sharks, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the postseason. On Saturday, he stood in the back of a shiny white Ford F-150 with both trophies in his possession, sharing them with more than 30,000 fans along Forest Hills Parkway, the same route he took to Cole Harbour Place, where he honed his skills as a young player.
The parade began in the parking lot of St. John XXII church, the same place he played street hockey as a kid. Escorted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, along with Halifax local police, the convoy rolled onto Colby Drive, turned right and lasted almost two miles up Forest Hills Parkway and into Cole Harbour Place, where a massive stage was erected behind the ice rink.
Even though it was his second time celebrating a Stanley Cup parade on this route, he took the time on Saturday to recall those mental images as a child.
"The whole time, that's exactly what goes through your mind," Crosby said. "You see the crowd. You see the people, but you also think about what comes to mind when you pass that area. Where we started, I used to play street hockey in that parking lot, and that's where I walked on my way to school. I don't think I ever thought I would be starting off my Stanley Cup parade there. Yeah, all those things go through your head. The way to the rink here, that's exactly how I came to the rink for every game or practice. That's what it's about. It's about dreams coming true and being able to share it with everybody."
Along the parade route, he saw former teachers and coaches. A couple from Ohio traveled for three days via Detroit to attend the parade. Youth hockey players and their families that attended Crosby's weeklong camp were in attendance too. The majority of the fans were from Cole Harbour.
Standing on the corner of Colby Drive and Forest Hills Parkway, Derek McCarthy and his family couldn't wait to see Crosby and the Cup. McCarthy was an assistant coach when Crosby played midget AAA at age 13.
"He was mature beyond his years," recalled McCarthy.
In one of the parade trucks, Crosby had a special guest.
Sidney Sherman, 6, was born in the early-morning hours on Nov. 29, 2009. The night before, Crosby scored a hat trick and added two assists for five points in an 8-3 win over the New York Rangers. During that performance, Kim Sherman, a native of Cole Harbour, was in labor, and along with her husband, the plan was to name their soon-to-be daughter, Olivia.
"How could we not name her Sidney after that game?" Kim Sherman said before Saturday's parade, while 6-year-old Sidney sat in excitement in the back seat, sporting a Crosby jersey and sipping a root beer.
"She is a Sidney," Sherman said. "This is very overwhelming and very exciting. She even sleeps with a Crosby doll every night."
When the convoy reached the stage behind the ice rink, the Mounties stood in front as Crosby walked up with the Stanley Cup over his head. The crowd went crazy as he pulled it toward him and kissed it.
"Who wouldn't want to come back to this?" Crosby said, during a brief interview on stage with TSN's Gord Miller. Crosby ended the session with a message for the fans.
"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for your support. It means a lot. You guys don't understand. I know I'm far away [in Pittsburgh], but I can always feel the support no matter where I go and [home] is a special place and I'm proud to come back here. I hope we can do this again, so thank you very much."
Earlier in the week, Crosby admitted he went to bed too early the first time he hosted the Stanley Cup in 2009. He wasn't going to make that mistake twice.
True to that promise, from the time the Keeper of the Cup, Phil Pritchard, arrived on Friday in Halifax, Crosby was nonstop. He visited a veterans' hospital and children's hospital on Friday, and even sneaked into a Tim Hortons restaurant to pose with employees and customers. He boarded a Harbour Hopper, which is an amphibious vessel for land and sea that was used during the Vietnam War and is now used for tours around Halifax. He also had a private harbor cruise for friends and family later in the night. There were a few other spots in between.
"I went to bed at 5 [a.m.]," he said with a smile. "I probably got three or four hours [of sleep] but I feel pretty good. It's pretty hot out here today. I thought it was going to be a little tougher than it was, but I think you're running on adrenaline for two days when you have it. I wasn't going to try to save myself for [Saturday]. I was going to try and get every hour in I could with the Cup. It will be moving on [Saturday night], so I've got to soak up every minute with it."
Crosby crammed a lot into two days with the Cup in his hometown. There were no bells and whistles. Crosby kept it simple. It was a grassroots parade and his fans showed up in droves to witness it.
No matter who you talked with in town, they talked about how genuine Crosby is both on and off the ice. He also hosted his second annual hockey school at Cole Harbour Place this week. A group of 160 youth players from all over the world participated in the camp. Crosby works the entire camp and is hands-on, along with everyone else who volunteers.
"It's important to come back here just because this is a place that had such a great influence for me growing up, and for so many people, the guys who didn't necessarily move on to play in the NHL but friends and the group of people I grew up with, I know the people in this community had a huge impact on on where they are today," Crosby said, "so the great thing is a lot of those people are still involved in the community now."
Crosby described it as "unique" to have some of the same coaches and volunteers still helping out. One in particular had, and continues to have, a massive impact on Crosby's life and career. Paul Mason, who was Crosby's peewee coach, runs Crosby's hockey camp, the rink and just about everything else hockey or sports related in town. Outside of his parents, no one knows Crosby better than Mason.
As Mason explained, the best way to describe Crosby is his mailing address.
Before Crosby reached elite levels in the hockey world, locals said they were from Halifax because no one knew where Cole Harbour was. But during interviews when asked where he was from, Crosby would say, "Cole Harbour."
"He never said 'Halifax.' It was always 'Cole Harbour.' Not only myself, but many other people after he did that, we now write 'Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia' even though there's no such mailing address as Cole Harbour -- we all do it -- everyone in the hockey community and beyond," Mason said.
During Crosby's celebration on Saturday, he made it a point to credit Mason for the work he does in the community, including the hockey camp. Along with Crosby's parents, Troy and Trina, Mason owns and runs the pro shop inside Cole Harbour Place. The pro shop is also the hub of the hockey community. People come in to get their skates sharpened, or just to talk hockey. It's more than a pro shop.
On the final day of the camp, Crosby surprised the kids with the Stanley Cup. There were four groups that had a team-style picture taken with Crosby and the Cup to have as a keepsake.
Crosby is only 28 and his legacy is already cemented as one of the best hockey players ever to play the game. There should be more to come from No. 87.
"I'm just trying to go year-by-year," he said. "As a hockey player, as an athlete, you're trying to improve and get better every year and work on things. As far as the off-ice things, whether it's the foundation or different things you want to be involved in, things kind of progress and develop and you kind of find your way a little bit. I think that's a year-to-year thing but definitely with the foundation, this camp, as far as the off-ice things are considered, I think it's gotten a little bit easier and you find a little more direction in what you like and what you're passionate about. That's an important thing given the position that we're in."
Many in the community, including Mason, are pushing to have Forest Hills Parkway -- the Stanley Cup parade route -- renamed after Crosby.
"It's a compliment. I'm flattered by it," he said. "That's up to other people. When I think of Forest Hills Parkway, that's the way I remember it. But it's maybe different for others. Like I said, it's a compliment and I'm honored by it but I have no expectations either way."
In 2009, the biggest issue the local police along the parade route had was preventing elderly women from bringing Crosby flowers. On Saturday, old and young alike were drawn to the person and the player they are so proud to call one of their own.
"There's an affection for him from everyone," Mason said, "just because he's a better person than he is a hockey player."