Beau Bennett Meets Sid The Kid

(left) Beau Bennett was selected with the 20th pick in the 1st Round on Friday by Pittsburgh

From: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
by Shelly Anderson

There was someone at the Penguins' table on the floor of the Staples Center Friday night who had an inkling what DU recruit Beau Bennett was feeling.

"A lot of nerves," Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby said.

"It's nerve-racking. Everybody works so hard to get here."

Crosby joined the Pittsburgh team brass for the first round of the NHL draft after a stop in Las Vegas for the NHL awards and before heading to Edmonton for a large Canadian Olympic celebration.

For Crosby, it was a pleasant enough way to spend an evening -- "It's fun. It brings back some memories," said the first overall pick of the 2005 draft -- but for Bennett it was a night well worthy of a mental bookmark.

The right winger was the Penguins' 2010 first-round pick, 20th overall.

After donning a Penguins jersey on stage with general manager Ray Shero and his staff, Bennett met Crosby.

"That was awesome. It was unreal," Bennett said. "You watch this guy win a gold medal for Canada [at the 2010 Olympics] and then you meet him and are going to the same organization as him -- I just wish for the opportunity to play with him someday."

Bennett, 6 feet 1 and 175 pounds, is not likely to get that chance right away. He is headed to the University of Denver in the fall after amassing 41 goals and a league-best 120 points in 56 games last season for Penticton of the junior British Columbia Hockey League.

Flashing a big smile, Bennett said during pre-draft interviews with the Penguins he got a feel for what the 2009 Stanley Cup champions saw in him.

"They like my offense," said Bennett, who is on the older side of this draft class because he will turn 19 in November.

"I bring some creativity to the game, and I can create off the right side or the left side. I need to work on some things as well -- on my defensive play and my strength. I think at [Denver], I'll get better on both aspects."

Bennett is from Gardena, Calif., in the Los Angeles area. He was surrounded by friends and a few generations of family members at the packed arena and became the highest-drafted Californian in NHL history, passing defenseman Jonathan Blum, who was selected 26th overall by Nashville in 2007.

Like a lot of Southern Californians who find hockey, Bennett first played on in-line skates before making the transition to ice because he was a Kings fan.

Having the draft in Los Angeles, he said, "shows the interest in hockey is growing and coming west."

Playing hockey is not his only talent.

"Growing up, my parents made me play five years of an instrument to continue to play hockey, and I chose piano," Bennett said. "I don't take lessons anymore, but I still can get on the keyboard and jam a little bit. Modern stuff, whatever's out, whatever's fun to play."

Bennett was a prospect who was hard to collar.

Various rankings and mock drafts had him projected anywhere from midway through the first round to early in the second.

He did not any sleep over it.

"I slept pretty well," he said. "I didn't know what to think -- going first [round] or wherever I got drafted, I was still going to be playing hockey for a long time.

"This is just a stepping stone for my career."

He is thrilled with the way things worked out, joining a club with centers such as Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.

"If I keep maturing physically and in the game aspect, I hope to be in a spot playing with some unbelievable centers that I grew up idolizing and watching," Bennett said.

Sidney Crosby Happy With Chevy's Play

(left) Sid The Kid is from the same hometown as DU goaltender Marc Cheverie

From: Denver Post

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on Thursday said he was well aware that University of Denver goalie Marc Cheverie, one of the early favorites for the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA hockey's top player, is having a strong season.

"A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to someone about him," Crosby said after the Penguins' morning skate. "He was on a shutout streak."

So why should Crosby know this, or care? Crosby and Cheverie, both 22, are from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

"We played together growing up, so I'm really happy to see him doing well," Crosby said. "We skate back home together in the summers. . . . There are few guys from Cole Harbour who are going well, and that's great to see. He's done a great job. He went to a great school there in Colorado, and I'm happy to see him doing well.

"We played together for probably two or three seasons and we went to school together.

"We weren't best friends, but we'd see each other a lot between school and hockey. He's a great guy, and he's been a solid goalie all the way up. I'm not surprised he's doing well there."

NHL.com Profiles Marc Cheverie & His Injury

(above) Marc Cheverie is recovering from a skate inflicted wound

"I got to play with Marc over the summer and yeah, he's a really good goalie," Pittsburgh Penguins captain and fellow Cole Harbour native Sidney Crosby told NHL.com recently. "He's a great kid and I think he's got a bright future."

University of Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie is off to an outstanding start this season, with a 4-0-0 record, 1.27 goals-against average, .959 save percentage and three shutouts. He is the national leader in wins, GAA and save percentage, and is a surprise early-season Hobey Baker candidate. Headed into this weekend's action, he and the Pioneers were ranked No. 3 in the NHL.com Top 10 Poll and sat in a three-way tie atop the WCHA, with archrival Colorado College and North Dakota.

Instead of getting ready to help his team try and take over first place in the WCHA with a two-game set against the Fighting Sioux, however, Cheverie is at home nursing what thankfully wasn't a career-ending injury. (read rest of article)

New York Times Previews Pioneer-Badger Series

From: New York Times
by Nathan Sandals

Usually it’s marquee non-conference matchups that draw the most attention early in the college hockey season. But a showdown in the W.C.H.A. is just too enticing too ignore this weekend. The Wisconsin Badgers head to Denver to take on the Pioneers tonight and tomorrow in a series that should give an early indication of who sits atop college hockey’s power conference.

Denver enters the weekend ranked fourth in the country, and the player to watch on the Pioneers is Rhett Rakhshani (New York Islanders). Rakhshani is more than just a guy with a cool name on skates; he has a lot of speed and soft hands around the net, making up for his relatively small frame. Along with Rakhshani, the Pioneers return Kyle Ostrow and Tyler Bozak as sophomores. That trio made up three of Denver’s top four offensive players last season.

Goaltending is the biggest unknown for the Pioneers this season. Peter Mannino, who played in 40 of Denver’s 41 games last season, has graduated and that puts sophomore Marc Cheverie (Florida Panthers) between the pipes for this season. Cheverie might not be a big name yet, but he definitely knows people in high places. Cheverie grew up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. That’s right, the same town as Sidney Crosby.

Wisconsin seems slated for a down year this season. The Badgers are the 20th-ranked team in the nation right now and went 0-2 on an East Coast swing last weekend, but a couple of freshman showed some offensive spark. Forward Jordy Murray and defenseman Ryan Little both registered a pair of points in their first collegiate weekend. Murray played his prep hockey at legendary Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Fairbault, Minn. Murray has some N.H.L. connections, too. His father, Andy, is the coach of the St. Louis Blues.

Chevy & Crosby Are Golfing Buddies

(above) NHL star Sidney Crosby grew up with DU's Marc Cheverie in Nova Scotia

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

University of Denver freshman goalie Marc Cheverie, the backup to senior and All-America candidate Peter Mannino, has yet to play this season.

However, the unproven youngster already has the stamp of approval from the best hockey player in the world.

Cheverie, 20, grew up with Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. They went through the Canadian youth hockey system together and nearly played for the same high school team in Faribault, Minn., home of national power Shattuck St. Mary's.

"He lived about three minutes from me," Cheverie said of Crosby, the reigning NHL scoring champion and Hart Trophy winner as player of the year. "Same junior high, same novice team. He got me into Shattuck, but it wasn't the right timing. They needed a goalie, and they wanted me, but financially it wasn't really possible. My parents would have paid for it, but I got a better offer to play at Notre Dame in Saskatchewan."

Their friendship began when each was introduced to the ice at age 5 and were on the same team. Crosby, who leads Pittsburgh into Tuesday's game against state rival Philadelphia, was a natural.

"None of us could skate but him," Cheverie said. "He was the only good player we had. I remember in novice, everyone would say he's the next great one, but there's always one of those kids that people say that about. Turns out he was it."

Cheverie said Crosby is as good at preventing goals as scoring them.

"When we were in junior high, every day he'd come over to our garage and we'd do shootouts," Cheverie said. "He'd be goalie, I'd be the shooter, and then we'd switch. He's a really good goalie."

Crosby's desire to be the best was evident early.

"In grade seven, he'd call me every day to play mini- putt, like mini-golf, and it was the biggest deal to him if he didn't win," Cheverie said. "He took it so seriously. I was like, 'whatever,' but he had to win. I guess I was good competition because he liked to have me around. But he takes everything so seriously. That's probably why he's as good as he is."