Sidney Crosby's No. 87 was retired not just by his former junior team, the Rimouski Oceanic, on Friday night.
QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau announced that No. 87 would be retired league-wide, making Crosby the first QMJHL alum to receive the honor.
Before the ceremony, all Oceanic players wore No. 87 in warmups:
All @oceanicrimouski players are wearing Crosby’s jersey for warm up as they get set to retire the famous number 87. Very Cool 🇨🇦🏒 pic.twitter.com/yjX1ivspKO
— High Button Sports (@thehighbutton) September 27, 2019
The ceremony opened with a standing ovation that lasted more than eight minutes:
Superbe moment ! #tvasports pic.twitter.com/DD3SisDKKv
— Mikaël Lalancette (@MLalancetteTVA) September 27, 2019
Les applaudissements durent depuis plusieurs minutes. On sent Crosby très ému. #tvasports pic.twitter.com/peIL1x7uzO
— Mikaël Lalancette (@MLalancetteTVA) September 27, 2019
Sidney Crosby fighting back tears with a minutes-long standing ovation in Rimouski, crowd chanting “Cros-by, Cros-by!” Honestly one of the longest standing ovations I’ve ever witnessed. It’s unending. pic.twitter.com/4dPqVkoJ9I
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 27, 2019
Crosby appeared to get emotional several times during his speech.
"Thank you for all the kind words," he opened. "To be back on this ice is pretty incredible, I've got some amazing memories here over the years. It's pretty emotional, but 17 years ago I had a decision to make, to come to Rimouski or to go to college. I was 15 years old and it was a big decision at that age. My parents and agent Pat Brisson decided they'd come for a visit. I remember the anticipation of that visit. The thoughts that went through my mind -- 'What would they think of this place? What's it like in Rimouski, is this the right place for me?' And I remember my mom calling right after saying, 'Sidney, you're going to love it here.' That's all I needed to hear, and, mom, were you ever right.
"I had two amazing years here. My best friends to this day played here, trained me here, and coached me here. All of this while pursuing a dream of playing in the NHL like the players here tonight."
Crosby's full speech can be seen here:
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