TORONTO -- When you're 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds like Jamie Oleksiak, you're always kind of a big deal.
Especially here in his hometown of Toronto, where his surname carries even more weight. The defenseman was at the center of attention in the packed Penguins dressing room after Saturday's morning skate at the Air Canada Centre. Well, sort of.
Oleksiak's younger sister Penny Oleksiak is a swimming champion, the first Canadian to win four medals in a single Olympics at the 2016 Rio Games. Or as the proud older brother says: "She's kind of hot (stuff) around here."
The 25-year-old got to spend Friday night at home with his family and, like a true Torontonian, was watching the NBA's Eastern Conference-leading Raptors beat the Western Conference-leading Houston Rockets.
"That was a huge win,' he said. "Houston was on a 17-game win streak. Pretty cool to watch."
With his height, Oleksiak played schoolyard basketball but never competitively -- "hockey takes over" -- and he isn't a swimmer, like his 17-year-old sister, who will be in attendance tonight.
"She'll be cheering for Pittsburgh ... well, hopefully," said Oleksiak, who had to buy "four or five" tickets for the game. One of the perks of being dealt to Pittsburgh in mid-December is that it will allow Oleksiak to be closer to home and play the Maple Leafs more often in the Eastern Conference. "Whenever you play in Toronto, it's always a cool experience. Obviously a lot of history here. Being from here, too, it's a team I grew up watching, always a lot of fun and a great atmosphere. When you have your friends and family watching you play, it's pretty cool."
There's a buzz around Toronto, with both the Leafs and Raptors headed toward the playoffs. Last night it was the Raps' turn at the ACC, tonight it's the Leafs looking to win their 10th straight on home ice.
This being Canada, though, hockey rules the roost, particularly Toronto where the Leafs play under a constant microscope from fans and media.
"People are always really friendly here and positive, even more so now," said Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk. "Whether you're walking by people on the street or you see people in your building where you live in, people are pretty jacked up about the team. It makes it a lot of fun."
Of course the Leafs haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967 -- or even reached the Final -- a fact not lost on defenseman Jake Gardiner.
"When it 's good it's good," he says. "When it's bad, it's bad."