The oldest player for Canada brings the experience of having won two gold medals to this year's star-studded tournament, which begins with a game against Czechia on Thursday
MILAN, Italy - At the final practice before games began for the men, Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby was pretty clear about his mindset.
"I just want to get going," he said. "We've had some good practices and anticipation, so it's time to get going."
The Pittsburgh Penguins icon had good reason to be antsy. After all, this is famously the first Olympics in more than a decade to feature a full NHL complement of players, meaning Crosby himself hasn't skated in the tournament since winning his second gold medal with Canada in 2014. Now in Milan, Canada has a chance to get back on the podium in men's hockey with a team that is absolutely stacked up front.
Even with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and leaders from a number of NHL squads, Crosby is still the captain — and you can probably add an "of course" to the end of that sentence. The 38-year-old, who is the oldest player on the team, has been an incredible leader for most of his professional career and has reached legendary status in the game.
One of the reasons for that is playing the game the so-called right way, something he believes will drive Canada to gold again if the whole squad buys in.
"We have a ton of talent, but the biggest thing is making sure we check well and don't give teams quality chances," Crosby said after practice on Wednesday. "We need to use our speed on both sides of the puck and play a team game."
The first opportunity to do so comes today against Czechia on Thursday, a great opening opponent since the Czechs should give Canada solid competition thanks to their own stars, such as Boston's David Pastrnak, Vegas' Tomas Hertl and Colorado's Martin Necas. And sure, there might be a feeling-out process since none of the teams had a ton of time to play together before the tournament commences, but this initial group-play game is important for both teams, especially in terms of seeding for the playoffs.
So, no, the Canadians are not looking past the Czechs by any stretch of the imagination.
"We're focused and we respect everyone," Crosby said. "Everyone isn't going to be perfect in Game 1, but at the same time we have to start to form our identity and understand what that looks like. We're going to have to compete no matter who we play against."
And now it begins. An Olympic adventure featuring incredible talent from around the world. For Canada, it's a meeting of generations from Crosby to McDavid and MacKinnon to teenager Macklin Celebrini.
This may be the final Olympics for Crosby (though knowing him, perhaps don't count him out for the next run in four years just yet, when he'll be 42 years old) and his competitive nature will not allow it to simply be about participation.
This is a chance for a third Olympic gold medal and he is clearly prepared to make a run for that prize.
