Hockey Canada has had generational talent coming in and out like a revolving door, but there is one player that stands out from the rest. The Canadians have won 37 Championships at the International level (excluding world juniors) and have seen the likes of Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky lace up the skates and bare the Maple Leaf. However I’m here to tell you that Sidney Crosby is the greatest player to ever play for Team Canada in International competition.
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Crosby’s first taste of International Hockey was at the 2004 World Junior Championships where he registered five points in six games including being the youngest player to score for Canada at the tournament. Just one year later he captained the World Junior team where they steamrolled the Russians 6-1 to capture gold. In that year’s tournament Sid the kid finished with six goals and nine points in just six games, a statement performance before ever even having touched NHL ice. Following his first professional season he went back to the International stage where he put up 16 points in 9 games, a lesser tournament but still… you get the point.
It was nearly half a decade before Sid got to represent his nation again at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. For myself and millions of other Canadians, this is a particularly special memory. Although I was just seven years old, I remember being downtown the day of the gold medal game against the United States. I remember the excitement and buzz in the air, the sea of red as I walked downtown with a family friend. This was for myself and many others what made me fall in love with hockey. Sidney Crosby inspired an entire generation of hockey fans with one singular moment. After captaining the men’s National team all the way to a bitter gold medal game against the US, the game came down to overtime, the next goal wins it all. It was here where Crosby cemented his legacy in Canadian hockey history at just 22 years old. Off what seemed like a broken play in the corner, Canadian winger Jarome Iginla recovered the puck along the half wall, passing it to a streaking Sidney Crosby who was caught in a now iconic moment yelling “iggy”. Crosby as fast as it got on his stick released it past the American goaltender scoring “the golden goal” one of the most iconic in hockey history. Sid finished the tournament with seven points in seven games along with being a Canadian treasure. Four years later Canada was competing for olympic gold once again this time in Sochi. The Canadians played Sweden this time around where they yet again captured gold with a 3-0 win. Crosby again added to his legacy with the goal to go up by two, dishing a sweet backhand past the left pad of Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvuist. This was Sid’s only goal of the tournament, but came at the most crucial moment. To this point Crosby had played at the highest of International levels having captained Canada both times and capturing gold with a goal in each.
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Two years removed from Sochi, the NHL announced the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. This was the first World Cup since 2004 where the Canadians won. With his Olympic pedigree it was a no brainer for Canada to yet again name Crosby the team’s leader. Crosby absolutely devoured this tournament putting up ten points in just ten games against the world’s best. Canada defeated Team Europe 2-0 in the best of 3 series defending their 12 year title as World Cup champions. He scored the first goal of the tournament while linemate Brad Marchand scored the last on a shorthanded goal to win it for team Canada. Although Crosby didn’t score the goal to elevate Canada to the win, his influence on this team and game runs far more deep. It’s clear that Marchand’s time on Crosby’s line vastly improved him as a player as it has with so many such as former penguin linemate Jake Guentzel. Crosby has helped lead Canada to multiple world championships while also leading individuals off the ice. Keep in mind Crosby displayed this World Cup performance with an extremely shortened summer having just come off his first of back to back cups.
It would be nine whole years before Crosby would get to represent Canada again. The NHL having not allowed for its players to compete in both the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, forced many players to miss out on an opportunity at the Canadian national team, and even put into question if we’d ever see Sid suit up for the country again. At the conclusion of the 2024 NHL All-Star game the league announced that this year’s (2025) All-Star game would be replaced with a new event called the 4 Nations Faceoff. This would be a tournament where 4 nations; Canada, USA, Finland, and Sweden would face off in a two week long best on best tournament. Of course when this was announced everyone knew Crosby would be on the team, but would he be its leader? After all, a team composed of MacKinnon, Makar, and of course McDavid. However the speculation was put to rest this past December when Crosby was named the team’s captain. These 4 nations have one game to go with Canada and the US once again facing off in the final. To this point in the tournament Crosby has continued to show that he is a gamer at the international level having notched 5 points in 3 games one of which being albeit an empty netter but at the clutches of moments as it seemed imminent that Finland was going to tie it and crush Canada’s gold dreams.
The 2026 Winter Olympics is right around the corner and Crosby has shown that he absolutely still has it. Will he still be the captain for Canada? Well that’s to be seen. Any questions surrounding if he would be on next year’s Olympic team have been firmly put to rest as Crosby will continue to dominate at the International level potentially until retirement. It’s expected that the torch will be passed to Connor McDavid as we’ve seen him dominate this year’s tournament but who knows. Regardless Sid the (not so anymore) kid’s time is slowly reaching its end and our opportunity to see him play for Canada is dwindling. So the best thing you can do as a Canadian right now is sit back, relax and enjoy the ride that Crosby, our Maple King is taking us on.