Ex-Penguins winger Gary Roberts returns to Pittsburgh

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Gary Roberts is returning to Pittsburgh as the name, face and attitude of the Sports Performance Center at the UMPC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.

The 21-year NHL veteran and training expert will work with youth hockey players and other athletes in his new role.

Roberts, who played in the Stanley Cup Finals with the Penguins nearly seven years ago, will oversee the philosophy and off-ice training regimen at the Sports Performance Center.

While straddling both rinks at the complex, the 48-year-old will focus on hockey but encompass athletes of every sport.

He also will consult with the full-time UPMC staff who, along with him, will work personally with players from every echelon of hockey -- professional, collegiate, junior, youth (including the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) -- as well as athletes of all ages and levels, including a morning program for business executives.

The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is scheduled to open its doors in August as the Penguins’ practice home, a community hockey and sports development, and a public sports medicine facility with 24 exam rooms, physical therapy areas, imaging and more.

"I love the city and the fans of Pittsburgh," said Roberts, whose agreement with UPMC Sports Medicine calls for him to coordinate, lead and work at the Sports Performance Center in Cranberry. "These are philosophies I honed during my career and afterward. I'm thrilled to team up with UPMC to bring philosophies and programs that we've put in place to train, develop and mentor athletes from the youth levels all the way to the professional ranks."

Since last playing in the NHL with Tampa Bay in 2008-09 following his two Penguins seasons, Roberts has been sharpening and refining his techniques in his native Toronto with the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre, which he will continue to operate.

He was a natural fit for the trailblazing, hybrid complex bearing the name of his friend and former team’s co-owner, Mario Lemieux.

"This is a great step forward for the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex," added David Morehouse, CEO and President of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Gary's expertise in sports performance training and nutrition is well-known within the hockey community, and his presence here will be a benefit for everyone from youth hockey players to elite NHL prospects. It will help to make this facility a destination point for world-class events and training – in hockey and all sports."

Late in his career, Roberts was acknowledged by teammates and opponents to possess the fitness and body of a player half his age.

He scored 28 points in 57 regular-season games with the Penguins in 2006-07 and 2007-08, then added four goals and eight points in 16 total playoff games during that time -- between the ages of 40 and 42.

WPXI