/ AP

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman confirms that the Pittsburgh Penguins were the winners of the NHL draft lottery.

There will be no rush, said Patrick, for Crosby to blossom in Steeltown.

“We let them grow slowly, we don't like to force them,” said Patrick, noting that prior young stars, such as Martin Straka, weren't placed in positions to perform before they were ready. “We won't put a lot of pressure on Sidney to carry our team. He'll be one of the young people to carry the flag down the road, but certainly not right away.”

Sid the Kid. The hype pre-dated his arrival by at least two years, reminiscent of the the likes of Lemieux and Eric Lindros and the all-but-forgotten Alexandre Daigle. Lemieux, who came out of retirement in order to preserve the millions of dollars due him in salary, became one of the greatest scoring talents in league history. Lindros' results have been mixed, in part because of frequent concussions and, at times, inconsistent play. Daigle was a bust from the start in Ottawa, although he showed signs of salvaging some of his career in '03-'04 in Minnesota.

There just is never really knowing for sure. Daigle proved that perhaps better than anyone. By nearly all accounts, Crosby, a 5-foot-11 center, is a can't-miss franchise player. But the leap from juniors to the NHL is huge, and as clever as he may be, he'll face defensive pressure from opposing forwards that he never experienced in the Quebec League, and he'll have broad-shouldered defensemen, some five inches taller and 40 pounds heavier, pounding him at every opportunity.

The fact that the NHL has given its rule book a hefty shake should help Crosby's chances. The Lords of the Boards have promised, again, to crack down on obstruction. They also have yanked out the center-ice red line in hopes of unclogging the trapped neutral zone.

With these initiatives aimed at adding flow to the game and enabling skilled players to show their skills, Crosby, already fast in his own right, comes in a step ahead compared to other talented rookies in recent years. Oh, and with goalies this year forced to adopt down-sized equipment, Crosby should see more of the net.

“Nothing's done yet,” said Crosby, asked about his imminent move to Pittsburgh, “but I'll be excited to play there.”

Crosby watched the lottery unfold while in his hometown of Cole Harbour. As each team was named, beginning with Tampa at pick No. 30, he turned to a small piece of paper with all 30 NHL teams written on it, and crossed off the place that would not be his port of call. Finally, the cheat sheet showed only Pittsburgh and Anaheim.

“It was tough to watch ... not knowing,” he said. “I'm more than happy with the way it turned out, but it was nerve-racking, that's for sure.”

As the afternoon ended, and all the day's good news drew to a close, it was Ottawa's aging GM, John Muckler, who perhaps summed up best what Crosby would mean for Pittsburgh.

“You know what?” said Muckler. “Mario just became 30 years old again.”

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