Cole Harbour's Michael Rumsby got to hit the ice again as a player in Pittsburgh when his bantam AA team was in Pittsburgh for a tournament in conjunction with the NHL Winter Classic. (CBC)

Hockey legend Mario Lemieux reached out to a young Nova Scotia player last weekend during the NHL Winter Classic in Pittsburgh.

Michael Rumsby, 13, who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, plays with the Cole Harbour Wings, a bantam AA team.

The team travelled to Pittsburgh last week on the invitation of Cole Harbour native Sidney Crosby, under the leadership of Crosby's former pee-wee coach, Paul Mason.

The team played in a tournament held in conjunction with Saturday's Winter Classic, featuring the Washington Capitals and the Penguins, who ended up dropping the outdoor game 3-1.

During a visit to the Penguins' locker-room, Lemieux, an owner of the Penguins who battled Hodgkin's disease in the 1990s when he was a player, spoke to Rumsby about his own experience with the disease.

"We talked a little bit about our treatments and he told me a little bit about what he went through, and I told him what I've gone through and what I'm gonna go through," Rumsby said.

"It meant quite a bit because right from the beginning, when I found out I was going to have radiation, that was the first thing I thought was how Mario Lemieux had his.

"It wasn't a long, long conversation, but it was good," said Rumsby, who was presented with a signed puck by Lemieux.

Teen hits the ice again

Mason said Lemieux asked if he could talk to Rumsby privately, so he took him down the hall and sat down with him.

"It was a really good moment and I know Michael greatly appreciated it," said Mason.

Rumsby was diagnosed last year and was supposed to miss the entire hockey season.

"I was more upset that I couldn't play hockey, than that I had cancer," said Rumsby.

But Mason, who lost an eye himself as a result of cancer, found a way for Rumsby to play.

All the teams in last week's tournament were approached, agreeing not to make any body contact with Rumsby during his shift.

"The teams all accommodated the no-contact. They encouraged us to get Michael out on the ice and I know his teammates were ecstatic. As his coaches, we were overwhelmed," said Mason.

"When Michael stepped out on the ice, and the way his teammates reacted and how his teammates supported him ... and it got better each time. He got an assist, then he got a goal, got to play against the Russians and even got to have Sid [Crosby] coach him on the bench. It was pretty special."

Rumsby's teammates have voted him team captain.

"The whole team showed up [at the hospital] after a practice with their jerseys on. Then they pulled out my jersey and there was a big 'C' on it," said Rumsby. "They told me they voted me captain because a captain is someone who fights, and they thought I would be a good representative."