Ryan Graves Excited To Join Penguins, Has Connection With Sidney Crosby
Ryan Graves joins the Pittsburgh Penguins already with a connection to one of the franchise greats.
Kyle Dubas was a busy man during his first free agency as the president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A multitude of signings were made, but the longest one handed out by the Penguins was to 28-year-old defenseman Ryan Graves.
With a six-year deal worth $4.5 million annually, Graves is expected to fill in on the top line left defensive spot left open by Brian Dumoulin.
More than just a solid addition to the Penguins’ blue line, Graves shares a connection with one of the most well known names on the roster.
Graves is a native of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the same province as Cole Harbour where Sidney Crosby is from.
Graves discussed this connection and said no matter who you are in Nova Scotia, you know who Crosby is and you idolize him.
“He is who everybody looks up to in our area,” Graves said. “Younger, older. Everybody idolizes him, and for good reason.”
Graves stated that playing on the same team alongside an icon of the sport is going to be surreal, but he is ready to help the Penguins win.
"I try to play a two-way game, but the emphasis on my game is definitely defensively and the penalty kill and just playing against top lines," Graves said. “That's kind of the way I like to model my game, and I want to try to do that in Pittsburgh as well."
The Penguins have a preseason game scheduled to take place in Graves and Crosby’s home province and the tickets have already sold out.
Tickets for the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Scotiabank Center are going for as much as $1,700+ on the verified resale market.
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