It’s 8/7, you know what that means

Happy 8/7 to all who celebrate. Which should be everyone.

It’s August 7th, which means the Penguins’ captain is celebrating a birthday.

Once known as Sid the kid, that moniker feels far off now that the kids entering the league have been idolizing Crosby and growing up their whole lives watching him play. Take it from a beaming Conor Bedard, the number one overall pick in 2023, recounting getting a congratulatory text from Crosby.

Bedard was born in July 2005, the same month Crosby was drafted. So it’s been his entire life knowing nothing but watching Sid in the same NHL he’s about to join.

And, funny enough in surely a not-so-coincidental made for national TV matchup, guess who Bedard’s first NHL game will be against. Yep, Crosby and the Pens on October 10th. Time moves fast like that, but Sid isn’t ready to completely let go of that baton just quite yet.

Now at 36 and twice the age of Bedard (oof, hope that gives a little wince when you read it, it did to write it) Crosby is an elder statesman of the NHL. He’s the league’s active leading scorer and still going strong having played 82 games last season and tracking towards the very top of the mountain in terms of not only Mario Lemieux’s Penguin franchise records but also towards the top-10 and beyond for all-time NHL scoring.

Beyond the ice, for a guy with probably more highlights off the ice than on it as far as simple good deeds, charitable contributions both seen and unseen in the public eye and just being a genuine and decent guy, it’s a great day to celebrate the captain on his special day!