PR or do players really enjoy this stuff

[jjtt99 0]

I always wonder if this sort of thing is public relations driven or if players really enjoy doing it. Here is a clip of Crosby making a surprise visit to a youth hockey school.

http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/team/fea...arts/1980.0.php

Obviously with the microphone and camera this was PR driven, but locally, I've heard people like Linden and Naslund show up unannounced at Children hospitals. No cameras, no microphones.

[LoXish 0]

Still, even if it was for PR, you could tell he was having a good time and all the kids were having fun too.

Hockey is one of the only sports where the professional athletes are so hands on with the public who love the game.

[hockeymom 2]

I imagine, even if it might get "old" eventually... Crosby is still so new to it that doing this sort of stuff has got to be a thrill.

It would be more thrilling to go to a hockey camp than it would be to appear at some Car dealership "weekend extravaganza".

[hockeytim18 0]

I think Crosby enjoys it like I think the one u have is the one where he says its nice to teach the kids what isn't taught to them. He does a lot of stuff like this.

[KYHockey3 0]

i think he enjoys it. i mean come one, who wouldnt love to work with kids that idolize you. its gotta feel great when you help them

[Chadd 916]

I always wonder if this sort of thing is public relations driven or if players really enjoy doing it. Here is a clip of Crosby making a surprise visit to a youth hockey school.

http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/team/fea...arts/1980.0.php

Obviously with the microphone and camera this was PR driven, but locally, I've heard people like Linden and Naslund show up unannounced at Children hospitals. No cameras, no microphones.

Big difference between showing up at a for-profit program your boss (Penguins) is running a week before camp opens and showing up at a children's hospital on your off day in the middle of the season.

[shute 4]

pens mic pens jersey and tv everywhere... ya you can say it was a PR move. also look at some of the kids there.. not the same age group i think so they might of had to pay some good money to be there seeing as how the pens would need it. :P does anyone have the full clip of that and not just the edited stuff? you know the ones where he is screaming at them because they can't do things right like a crybaby?

[mack 44]

Wow, Crosby must have knocked your sister up and then slashed your tires or something.

[capes921 0]

Wow, Crosby must have knocked your sister up and then slashed your tires or something.

amen...give the guy a break. i love skating with little kids and helping them out, it wouldnt change if i was in the show

[hockechamp14 0]

Wow, Crosby must have knocked your sister up and then slashed your tires or something.

amen...give the guy a break. i love skating with little kids and helping them out, it wouldnt change if i was in the show

That's what I was thinking, I may be a crosby hater sometimes, but I work at hockey camps. This kind of stuff is always fun, even if you're not getting paid.

For all of you who talk about cameras and mic's... how many places does crosby go without all that crap?

He's got a pair of gloves that don't say Darryl on them... I wonder if they're for show, or if he's got new mitts.

[Chadd 916]

Wow, Crosby must have knocked your sister up and then slashed your tires or something.

amen...give the guy a break. i love skating with little kids and helping them out, it wouldnt change if i was in the show

That's what I was thinking, I may be a crosby hater sometimes, but I work at hockey camps. This kind of stuff is always fun, even if you're not getting paid.

For all of you who talk about cameras and mic's... how many places does crosby go without all that crap?

He's got a pair of gloves that don't say Darryl on them... I wonder if they're for show, or if he's got new mitts.

I think it's great that he did show up at the camp and spent the whole day there with the kids. Keep in mind, it's not like he heard there was a clinic down the street and decided to show up without telling anyone, or he just happened to be in town and decided to hit up a random clinic. This was in Pittsburgh at the Pens training facility at a camp run by the team.

I think in all fairness that some people, myself included, get annoyed with how some members of the media verbally fellate the kid for doing the same things every other player does and completely ignores his failings. He's human and has some flaws, if they fairly reported on him there would be fewer "haters".

[LoXish 0]

He's a great player, I don't think I've seen anyone take as much shit as he does...

[dietzie27 0]

When presented with the opportunity to serve as a guest instructor at the hockey school, Crosby couldn’t pass it up. He flew to Pittsburgh at his own expense because he knows how much of an impact the experience is for youngsters.

“It’s fun. I can remember being 6 or 7 and Brad Richards taught me at a hockey school and now I am playing against him,†he said. “It’s kind of funny how things work like that. You always remember those times in your life when you meet people like that. To be able to do it here is nice.â€

He knows what its like to learn from an nhler at a young age. I remember when he played in a world junior tourney, he and another player visited a childrens hospital.

[chk hrd 164]

Still, even if it was for PR, you could tell he was having a good time and all the kids were having fun too.

Hockey is one of the only sports where the professional athletes are so hands on with the public who love the game.

I agree, the players I have met were always down to earth.

I think the majority of hockey players visit schools, camps, hospitals, etc to give back to the game. They still remember how important it was to them when they were young.

[jjtt99 0]

Maybe I'm bias because I'm a hockey fan, but it seems to me NHL players are the most down to earth when compared to other sports.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Look at the work Messier's done in NY.

http://www.atcfkid.com/mark_messier_skyway.php

[KYHockey3 0]

Look at the work Messier's done in NY.

http://www.atcfkid.com/mark_messier_skyway.php

messier is a class act. he is definately one of my favorite hockey players ever.

[hamstercaster 2]

He is presently get back into shape with his old Quebec Major Junior team. He's been working out with them to get back in game shape. The coach said he was just superb with the rest of the players at camp and that this would do more for the players than all of what he could teach them himself. He was very appreciative and so were the Rimouski Oceanic fans who showed up in great numbers to watch the kid. That's a real nice thing he did. Makes everyone happy and I'm sure he will also benefit a great deal from that.

[chk hrd 164]

I believe it was Darrin Pang who tells a story about when Stevie Y won one of his cups. The morning after he got to have the cup for his day he called Pang and asked him what he was doing. When asked why Stevie Y said that since he had the cup he was going to take it to the local hospital and visit the patients with it. No media, no pomp and circumstance, just a great man doing his part as a leader and person.

[jjtt99 0]

He is presently get back into shape with his old Quebec Major Junior team. He's been working out with them to get back in game shape. The coach said he was just superb with the rest of the players at camp and that this would do more for the players than all of what he could teach them himself. He was very appreciative and so were the Rimouski Oceanic fans who showed up in great numbers to watch the kid. That's a real nice thing he did. Makes everyone happy and I'm sure he will also benefit a great deal from that.

At first I thought Hamster meant Messier!

This is what Hammy is talking about. A good video clip!

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/video/videoPlayer...BY_06_09_01.flv

[kosydar 0]

I believe it was Darrin Pang who tells a story about when Stevie Y won one of his cups. The morning after he got to have the cup for his day he called Pang and asked him what he was doing. When asked why Stevie Y said that since he had the cup he was going to take it to the local hospital and visit the patients with it. No media, no pomp and circumstance, just a great man doing his part as a leader and person.

I remember that too. They talked about it in Return to Hockeytown or one of those videos they made after one of the Cups.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I believe it was the day after they won. I believe it was the third one they won.

[pantherfan 0]

This is what Hammy is talking about. A good video clip!

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/video/videoPlayer...BY_06_09_01.flv

Interesting in this video Crosby reffers to himself as "a 19 year old veteran"

[LoXish 0]

I think he was commenting on another remark made by someone.

That and he was talking about veteran in context to the team he's training with that he spent numerous years with.

[pantherfan 0]

Don't be fooled that's what he wants you to think! <_<