Sidney Crosby will be joining Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Also, Darren Dreger and John Shannon reported that fellow Nova Scotian, Nathan MacKinnon, could be joining the team, too.

When Hockey Canada announced their first 15 players to join the team for the World Championship, Crosby and MacKinnon were not listed. However, with this decision, the two will be participating in the World Championship for the first time in a while.

After the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season ended, Crosby hinted at the possibility of participating in the tournament in a post-season scrum, but never made a definitive decision until Sunday. 

"I told (Dubas) I'll just take some time here and see how I feel,” Crosby told reporters. “It's almost better when you keep going, you know?” he said. 

The last time Crosby and MacKinnon represented their country was in February during the 4 Nations Face-Off, where they led Canada to win the tournament over Team USA. In four games, Crosby scored one goal and five points while MacKinnon recorded four goals in as many contests.

“As far as 4 Nations, we didn't really have a break. We jumped right back into it, and I was able to just keep playing. And, sometimes, when you finally stop, that's when you realize how you really feel,” Crosby said.

As for MacKinnon, there was never a discussion about his availability for this tournament because his Colorado Avalanche were in the playoffs. However, because the Dallas Stars eliminated the Avs in Game 7 of the first round, MacKinnon became eligible to join.

MacKinnon has played in three world championships, participating in the 2014, 2015, and 2017 campaigns. His last performance at the World Championship was his best, where he scored six goals and 15 points in 10 games.

This will be Crosby’s third World Championship tournament, with his first experience coming in 2006, the off-season after his rookie campaign. He set that tournament on fire, scoring eight goals and 16 points in nine games. He led the tournament in scoring as an 18-year-old.

The last time he went to the World Championship was in 2015, where he captained Canada for the second time in his career. In this campaign, he scored four goals and 11 points in nine games.

Crosby went on to win gold in the 2015 tournament and became a member of the triple gold club, which is made up of 30 players who have won a World Championship, an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup.

The Nova Scotian duo will join a mixed group of youngsters and experienced veterans. San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini is one of the young stars on this team, looking to earn his first piece of silverware as a professional hockey player.

Canada played their first exhibition game against Austria and won 5-1. The tournament officially begins on May 9, with Canada’s first game on May 10 against Slovenia.

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