In a move that should not come as a surprise to anyone, Hockey Canada has named legendary forward Sidney Crosby its captain for the upcoming men’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Team Canada’s leadership group is rounded out by Connor McDavid and Cale Makar, who will each wear an “A” on their jersey for the tournament.
This is not Crosby’s first time captaining the Canadian national team. He captained the team at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, leading Canada to a gold medal. He also wore the “C” at the 2015 IIHF Men’s World Championship, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, last year’s 4-Nations Face-Off and last year’s World Championship. He’s widely considered to be among the greatest players in Canadian history, and owns one of the country’s most iconic hockey moments – his “Golden Goal” at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Now 38 years old, it’s entirely possible this is Crosby’s final Olympic tournament, and while McDavid is his obvious successor as captain, Crosby will at least get one more run to try to lead Canada to another gold medal.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- 23-year-old Sebastian Cossa, who was the No. 15 pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, is making a real push for consideration for an NHL roster spot, writes Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen. Cossa has gone 20-4-2 with a .928 save percentage on a juggernaut Grand Rapids team, the best season of his young pro career. While offseason acquisition John Gibson has been solid as Detroit’s starter (22-12-2, .904 save percentage), the grip of veteran backup Cam Talbot on an NHL roster spot is likely less firm. In 24 games this season, Talbot, who is 38 years old, has an .892 save percentage, which ranks inside the bottom-15 in the league among netminders with at least 20 games played.
- Another young player making a push for consideration to land on his team’s NHL roster is Edmonton Oilers prospect defenseman Damien Carfagna. The 23-year-old undrafted blueliner is playing his first campaign as a professional, and has scored 13 points in 40 AHL games for the Bakersfield Condors. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell wrote that Carfagna “appears close to NHL ready” and could see a call-up to Edmonton thanks in large part to his skating, which Mitchell called “exceptional at the AHL level.”