PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins captain and star center Sidney Crosby will carry the Olympic torch in his native Nova Scotia next month as the flame makes its way across Canada before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Crosby says in a statement Tuesday that he's "honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic flame in my home province of Nova Scotia."

The 22-year-old from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia, will represent Canada in the Olympic hockey tournament. He'll carry the torch Nov. 18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Crosby will be one of 12,000 torchbearers in the cross-country relay.

Penguins owner Mario Lemieux was still playing when he carried the torch through suburban Pittsburgh in December 2001 when the flame was on its way to the Salt Lake City games in 2002.