Retro Royal: When Sidney Crosby Was (A) King

Today Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will try to lead his team to a victory over the LA Kings, but once upon a time, he was on LA’s side. Okay, Crosby has obviously never been a member of the LA Kings, but back in 2004, a 16-year-old Crosby and a few other hockey high schoolers from Shattuck St. Mary’s School joined the Kings’ prospect camp. Once upon a time he wore a Kings jersey and everything.

LetsGoKings.com shared the pictures to forever prove it happened:

Boom.

Hockey’s Future got an interview with Crosby where he talked about his experience in LA and gave his impressions of some of the players in the Kings’ system. A couple aren’t in the NHL now, but one name still sticks out.

HF: What are your first impressions of the Kings prospects camp and Los Angeles as a city?
SC: This is actually my fourth summer in Los Angeles. It’s a great place, great weather. It’s good just to be here and take the whole camp in and see the players and meet the coaches and see how it’s all run. It’s pretty unbelievable.

HF: Are you here to train with some of the NHL players down in Venice Beach?
SC: I am training with TRW when I am out here. A lot of the pros train with them, it’s a great workout.

HF: Have any of the Kings prospects caught your eye this week?
SC: Noah Clarke, he’s really fast and a good scorer. I think he played two games in the NHL last year. Dustin Brown looked very good too. There is some good talent here.

That’s not a misquote. Dustin Brown was drafted in 2003, so of course he was around for the 2004 development camp.

Brown might be going through a low point in his career offensively now, but he impressed today’s best in the NHL. Former Kings players Brian Boyle and Jack Johnson — who attended the same high school as Crosby — also participated in camp that summer, but only one of those three players has earned a Cup at this point. Brown hasn’t done too bad for himself since 2004.

This is the first time Crosby will play against the Kings at Staples Center since 2009, but as indicated above, he started spending portions of his summers in LA at 12 or 13. After the Penguins’ practice yesterday, he told reporters that he still comes to LA to train. Though he plays for the away team, Crosby probably knows the Kings facilities as well as the active players.