When Wayne Gretzky was invited to play for the Canadian junior hockey team in 1978, his roommate was Steve Tambellini.
Fast forward 25 years, and Tambellini's 19-year-old son, Jeff, was asked to be the roommate of another teenage phenom, Sidney Crosby, 16, at the Canadian junior selection camp.
The two were selected to the Canadian junior team's final 22-player roster yesterday, and the similarities did not escape Jeff Tambellini.
"I talked to my dad about it and he said that even though Wayne was this great talent back then, he was nervous and expressed that he was just happy to be included in a group of good players," said the younger Tambellini, a prolific goal scorer at the University of Michigan.
"Sidney was the same way. He was nervous and excited. I just tried to get him to relax. We've had a blast together [through the six days of the selection camp]"
Even though Crosby is the top scorer in Canadian junior hockey with 33 goals and 76 points in 33 games and was a lock to make the team, the Rimouski Oceanic centre was not taking any chances at the selection camp. When a television station asked him to don an authentic Canadian junior sweater for an interview earlier in camp, Crosby refused to honour the request.
"I didn't want to jinx it," he said yesterday with a big smile on his face. "To me, it wasn't right. There is a lot of sweat and hard work that goes into earning the right to wear Canadian colours. Yes, I'm superstitious. But I also wanted to work hard and prove to the coaches and my teammates that I belong on this team."
The critics pounced on the player from Cole Harbour, N.S., earlier in the camp because he didn't stand out in a couple of intrasquad games and in an exhibition game against the Ontario university selects last Sunday.
But Crosby was nervous. He is 23 months younger than the next youngest player on the team, fellow Nova Scotia native Stephen Dixon, and needed time to adjust to the new surroundings.
"He didn't get a lot of sleep," Tambellini said. "I think he got up every morning at 4:30 a.m. [when the coaching staff would inform players they were cut] But as the camp went on, you could see him getting comfortable."
Crosby's breakthrough at camp arrived on Monday, when he had three assists in a 9-1 victory over the university selects. At one point in the game, a much bigger and older forward from the opposition had the 5-foot-10, 185-pound player lined up for a big open-ice hit. Crosby took the collision shoulder first, and it was the older player who went down as Crosby skated past him.
"I've learned a lot so far," Crosby said. "The biggest thing is you have to think a lot faster at this level. Every pass is on the tape. You have to be quick to jump into holes and make quick, sharp decisions."
The decision now for Canadian junior coach Mario Durocher and his staff is what role to slot Crosby in for the world junior tournament in Helsinki, which will begin on Dec. 26, when Canada will plays the host team in Finland.
Crosby's role will be determined in the next eight days as Canadian team continues its preparation in Kitchener today and tomorrow before departing for Europe for two exhibition games against Sweden on Dec. 21 and Austria two days later.
This is a young team with speed up front, size on the blueline and excellent goaltending. The average age is 18 years 10 months. Only three other Canadian teams had an average age under 19, and on each of the three occasions in 1982, 1990 and 1993, Canada won the gold medal.
Crosby and Dixon, from Halifax, are the first Nova Scotia players to crack the Canadian junior roster since Sydney native Paul Boutilier made the 1982 team.
There are only two returnees from last year's silver medal team: standout goaltender Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins and forward Daniel Paille of the Guelph Storm. Swift Current Broncos defenceman Ian White, who played last year, was among the final six cuts yesterday because it was determined the ankle he fractured in late October would not allow him to play at a high level by the time the world junior tournament begins.
The other final cuts were Red Deer Rebels goaltender Cam Ward, Chicoutimi Sagueneens netminder Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, Calgary Hitmen defenceman Mike Egener, London Knights forward Corey Perry and Hitmen forward Ryan Getzlaf.
Paille was selected as the team captain. St. Michael's Majors forward Tim Brent and Gatineau Olympiques forward Maxime Talbot were chosen as the assistant captains. Ten players from the Western Hockey League made the final roster, while there were six from the Ontario Hockey League, three from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one U.S. college player and Fleury and Minnesota Wild forward Brent Burns from the National Hockey League.
Young talent
Sidney Crosby became the youngest forward to make the Canadian junior team yesterday and only the fifth at age 16.
From youngest to oldest:
Defenceman Jay Bouwmeester of Edmonton, 16 years 3 months.
Centre Sidney Crosby of Cole Harbour, N.S.,16 years 5 months.
Centre Jason Spezza of Brampton, Ont., 16 years 6 months.
Centre Eric Lindros of London, Ont., 16 years 10 months.
Centre Wayne Gretzky of Brantford, Ont., 16 years 11 months.