2nd Stanley Cup win is sweeter, hockey champ says at White House | McClatchy Washington Bureau

Months after the Pittsburgh Penguins took home the Stanley Cup for the fourth time, the team is still celebrating – and not just in Pittsburgh.

President Barack Obama welcomed the team, along with Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Team Captain Sidney Crosby and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, to the White House on Thursday afternoon, following a tradition of honoring members of the nation’s sports teams for their achievements.

Obama was presented with a personalized Penguins jersey as well as a miniature Stanley Cup at the end of the ceremony.

“You don’t wake up many days to have the opportunity to interact with the president of the United States,” Sullivan said. “For our players to get recognized by the president . . . is really fulfilling.”

Obama described the team’s overarching victories as “bookends of (his) presidency,” as the Penguins took home their third win since 2009, when he first took office.

“A lot has changed,” he said. “Back in 2009, the color of my hair matched the puck more than the ice, (and) ‘Sid the Kid’ was still a kid.”

While the president made plenty of jokes, admitting he “wasn’t the first to take a cheap shot” at Crosby, he acknowledged Crosby’s various awards and honors, as well as the difficulty the team faced in battling its way to the top, he said.

“What I like best about this team’s victory is that no one thought they could pull it off,” Obama said. “I obviously sympathize with that; they said the same thing about me.”

It wasn’t just the on-ice accomplishments that served as a testament to the kind of team the Penguins are, Obama said, but also the chemistry among the players that enabled them to thrive.

After winning the Stanley Cup, Crosby chose teammate and center Trevor Daley to get the second turn holding the trophy. Daley’s mother had been struggling with cancer during the playoffs, and she had told her son she’d fight the disease to continue to see him play.

Daley’s mother got to see him skate, on a broken ankle, with the trophy before she died a few days later.

The cup traveled to various team members’ homes throughout the summer, and it also made its way into children’s hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Sept. 13.

Obama praised the Penguins foundation for starting a movement to encourage kids to exercise, following suit with first lady Michelle Obama in her Let’s Move! initiative, and for making their home rink the first NHL arena to be LEED Gold certified as energy-efficient.

“(They’ve) set an example for the city and the league,” Obama said.

While the team doesn’t talk politics much in the locker room, Crosby said meeting the president was a unique experience, and celebrating a second Stanley Cup win has changed his perspective on the process.

“When you’re able to win at a young age . . . you don’t necessarily go through all those things that make you understand how difficult it is,” Crosby said. “This time around, I certainly have a different perspective, and I appreciate it more.”