Hockey players have a lot of great stories to share — and they absolutely love to tell them. In a new book called Certified Beauties, TSN broadcaster James Duthie gathers incredible and heartwarming hockey stories. The book’s foreword is written by Sidney Crosby, who shares a not-so-pleasant memory from the Pittsburgh Penguins bench.
57 untold hockey stories
James Duthie is an award-winning journalist who has published four books, with his latest, Certified Beauties, released in October. It features 57 previously untold stories from around the hockey world.
Sidney Crosby wrote the foreword, and to set the tone just right, he recalls a memorable — and somewhat painful — moment on the bench involving smelling salts.
READ MORE: Sidney Crosby’s special gym wall decor stuns everyone
Players using smelling salts
“One thing you always see on a bench when you watch a game is guys using smelling salts to give them a jolt. I haven’t been one to use sniffers — not sure why. I’ve always felt amped up enough without them. But they’re always around on the bench. Usually, after players use them, they give them to the trainer to throw out, or just stick them in the little water bottle holders,” Crosby writes.
”I’m freaking out”
“So this one night during the playoffs, I come back to the bench after my first shift, and I start to feel this burning sensation on my leg. I wear long underwear under my pants, and the pain is coming from between my underwear and the pants. Right away, I think something is biting me. I stand up on the bench and start making a funny noise, moving around trying to shake out what I think is something biting me. My equipment manager, Dana Heinze, looks at me, puzzled, and says, ‘You… good?’ No, Dana, I’m not good! This spider, or whatever it is, is attacking me. I’m freaking out. I’m jumping up and down, grabbing at my groin like my pants are on fire. Anyone who saw it must have figured I had finally lost it,” Crosby writes.
”It scarred me”
“Sure enough, as I’m doing this crazy panic dance, a sniffer falls out of my pants. Not sure how it got in there — someone must have left it on the bench, and it just slipped into my gear.
It scarred me. Ever since, I’ve kept a close eye out for those things. Trust me, you don’t want one in your pants… your gloves… definitely not your jock. These are the kinds of ridiculous little moments we laugh about our entire careers — and likely will long after we’re done,” Crosby writes.
READ MORE: Sidney Crosby’s ”forgotten” nickname has fans laughing
