'Just a great man': Sidney Crosby remembers fellow Nova Scotian and NHLer Lowell MacDonald
CBC
Sidney Crosby is remembering fellow Nova Scotian Lowell MacDonald, a former NHLer who died Sunday, as an inspiration to his career.
"With Nova Scotia, there wasn't a ton of players that came out of there," said Crosby in a post-practice media scrum Thursday.
"You knew the history, you knew who those guys were, you looked up to those guys. The fact that there was a Pittsburgh connection there [with MacDonald] was obviously pretty special."
MacDonald, 84, was a two-time NHL all star who played almost 15 seasons in the league. The forward suited up for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins.
MacDonald was born in Thorburn, N.S., and always considered the province home.
The Pictou County native's obituary said he and his wife, Joyce Smith MacDonald, returned for several months each year to visit family. They had a home in Little Harbour, N.S. MacDonald was an avid golfer, playing countless rounds at the Abercrombie Golf and Country Club.
MacDonald finished his NHL career with 180 goals and 390 points in 506 games, last playing in the 1977-78 season.
"Just a great man, and a proud Nova Scotian as well," said Crosby. "I think you always appreciate the guys that you looked up to and that kind of paved the way, and he's definitely one of them."
According to his obituary, during MacDonald's NHL playing days, he went to college for 14 summers, earning bachelor's and master's degrees.
After his playing days were over, MacDonald served as a teacher, hockey coach and athletic director at the University School of Milwaukee, where he stayed for almost two decades.
MacDonald was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 1982.
Bruce Rainnie, the hall of fame's president, said he had met MacDonald a few times and called their interactions outstanding.
"This sort of guy, you felt better when the conversation was over than you did when it started," he said.
Rainnie said MacDonald's career was plagued by knee injuries, but he didn't let that stop him.
As Halifax scraps plans for a sobering centre, staff at similar facilities across Canada say they’re a crucial part of the continuum of care needed to address homelessness and addiction.
New Brunswick will table its latest budget Tuesday after months of warnings from Premier Susan Holt that spending in some areas will have to come down.
Many Quebecers are waking up in the dark on Tuesday with power outages affecting several areas, as high winds continue to sweep across the province.
Brett Kraynyk's lease is coming up for a renewal, and while the Winnipeg property where he lives is rent-controlled, he's worried about a significant increase if his landlord reduces his rent discount — which happened last year.
The Swale Watchers plan to keep watching.
In a smaller city like Prince Albert, Ramadan can feel different.
About 125 people came out for a town hall meeting on health care in Charlottetown Monday night.
This is the second of two-part CBC News report on Taser use by Edmonton police. To read the previous story, click here.
A Merritt, B.C., father is urging parents to be on the lookout for ticks while the weather warms up, after his six-year-old son was partially paralyzed by a tick bite last week.
About that heartbreaking loss to the U.S. at the 2026 Olympic women's hockey final last month, Sarah Nurse says, “that was the most fun I’ve had in a hockey game in a very long time.”
The U.S. government on Monday said electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla and South Korea's LG Energy Solution had signed a supply agreement to build a $4.3 billion lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic battery cell manufacturing facility in Lansing, Mich., with an expected production launch in 2027.
In one small town in Alberta, the assistant principal says teachers almost never meet alone with parents anymore.
Tens of thousands of customers are without power and four parts of Highway 401 are closed Tuesday morning as blasts of blowing snow hit the Ottawa-Gatineau area.