Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had not played in the IIHF Men's World Championship since 2015, when he captained Team Canada to gold in Prague.

Fast-forward 10 years later, and it's safe to say that Captain Canada's decision to return to the tournament sent shockwaves through the international community.

Earlier Saturday, the IIHF released a compilation video of players participating for various nations at the tournament, and each of them had something glowing to say about having the opportunity to play against an all-time hockey great - and, in many cases, a personal idol.

"When I was smaller, it was Crosby," 16-year-old Hungarian center Doman Szongoth said. "My biggest idol."

Here is what a few others had to say:

F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (Team France): "Anytime you have a chance to play against him, it's cool. Sometimes, you have to hid a little bit of a few smiles because you're like, 'Okay, that's pretty cool... You know, best player in the world, [you're] like, 'That's cool!'"

D Urban Podrekar (Team Slovenia): "I'm still so excited to play against those guys like Crosby."

F Vinzenz Rohrer (Team Austria): "Well, I would say I'm a little bit [geeked out]. Maybe if I see him on the face-off, I'm like, 'Ok, that's Sidney Crosby there.'... If I'm on the ice, I think there is a little bit of a 'wow.' It's nothing negative, I think, if that comes up... it's just human, I think, for me."

'It's A Dream Come True': Young NHL Star Has High Praise For Penguins' Crosby Team Canada really got a roster boost in the days leading up to the 2025 IIHF Men's World Championship, as stars like <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/">Colorado Avalanche</a> forward Nathan MacKinnon, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders">New York Islanders</a> forward Bo Horvat, and <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' captain Sidney Crosby joined the fold.

Even NHL veteran Ryan O'Reilly - who regularly plays against Crosby as a member of the Nashville Predators and is enjoying the chance to play alongside him for Team Canada at the tournament - expressed how rewarding it was to be able to share the ice with him.

"When you're playing with him, you get to appreciate and get to see how much he does," O'Reilly said. "When you're playing against him, you're kind of worried about what he's going to do, and you're out there trying to defend it to make it and stop it. So, it's nice to actually be on the little more relaxing side. You can enjoy how good he is and all the little touches he makes.

"[Saturday], you know, some of those goals... incredible plays, and just the playmaking ability, is the reason why he's the best player in the world. And just the little details he has are impressive."

You can watch the full IIHF video tribute to Crosby here:

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