PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will carry the Olympic torch after the Vancouver 2010 relay reaches Canada.

The Pens announced on Tuesday that Crosby's leg of the relay will be run on Nov. 18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"It's a great honor. I never thought I'd ever have that chance," Crosby said after the Pens' morning practice at Mellon Arena.

During a Thursday ceremony in Ancient Olympia, Greece, the torch flame was lit by the sun's rays.
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Canada's Olympic hockey team has not been announced, but Crosby and his Penguins teammates Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal are among the many hopefuls. They were in a group of 46 players invited to an orientation camp in Calgary in August.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver from Feb. 12-28.

"This is something that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Crosby said Tuesday. "To be able to carry the torch is a privilege itself. To do it in your hometown, a place where I dreamed of playing in the NHL and representing Team Canada, it's special."

Penguins owner Mario Lemieux -- who was then the team's captain, like Crosby is now -- carried the Olympic flame through Pittsburgh on its way to the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Joining Lemieux as Pittsburgh's torch-bearers that year were Joe DeNardo, who was WTAE Channel 4's chief meteorologist, and Ashley Barrasso, daughter of former Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso. All three were recognized for being cancer survivors.

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