Crosby’s debut, which comes Wednesday night at New Jersey, is easily the most anticipated for a Pittsburgh rookie since Lemieux’s himself in 1984. (Not to put the pressure on Sid the Kid, but Le Magnifique scored on the first shot of the first shift of his career on Oct. 11, 1984, in Boston.)

As the season grows closer, Pittsburgh has become something of a Toronto South for the Canadian sporting media, with virtually every news agency and major newspaper covering his first training camp. One national newspaper has assigned a reporter fulltime to the Penguins’ beat to cover every moment, home and away, of Crosby’s rookie year.

But while Lemieux can very well relate to all this Crosby craze, there are vast differences between his rookie season and Crosby’s. In 1984, Lemieux joined a wretched, down-in-the-dumps team that won only 16 games the season before, would win only 24 games that season and was populated by players such as Mitch Lamoureaux, Bruce Crowder, Wally Weir and Arto Javanainen.

Because Crosby’s NHL entrance coincides with the new collective bargaining agreement and the sport’s biggest free agent market, the Penguins assembled a cast of former All-Stars around him in a matter of weeks. In Lemieux’s early days, it took them 3-4 years to begin bringing in players such as Paul Coffey, Tom Barrasso, Recchi and Kevin Stevens.

“It’s going to be a lot easier for him, with the guys we have and the leadership we have” Lemieux said. “I started my career here with the worst team in the league and didn’t have a lot of support. He’s going to have a chance to learn very quickly and win very quickly.”

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Crosby acknowledges growing anxious the last few years, waiting for this day to come. Now, it’s almost here. He’s been a nationally known figure since he was 14, has as many national endorsements as any Canadian athlete and has been forced to shoulder the kind of responsibility and expectations that rarely go with any teenager in any endeavor at any time.

“I don’t think there ever was a time I stepped back and said I wish I was something different,” he said. “I’m doing what I love to do. I want to continue to get better. If this is what comes with that, I’m ready to accept that.”

Even if he is only 18.