MILAN – Two-time Olympic gold medallist Sidney Crosby has been named captain of Canada’s men’s hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee announced the team’s leadership Sunday. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar were named alternate captains.
Crosby, the star captain of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the team’s elder statesman, is participating in his third Games. McDavid and Makar are finally making their Olympic debuts after the NHL didn’t send players to the Games in 2018 and 2022.
All three players were among the first six selected to Canada’s Olympic roster. They were also part of Canada’s championship team at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Crosby was captain, and McDavid scored the overtime winner as Canada beat the United States 3-2 in the final.
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“His experience. He’s been here and done that, and played in the biggest moments and succeeded,” McDavid said Sunday after Canada’s first skate in Milan. “But just a calming presence … a guy that doesn’t get too high or too low. Just a calming presence for everybody.”
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Crosby captained Canada to a gold medal the last time NHL players participated in the Olympics at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
Four years earlier, he scored the “golden goal” in overtime as Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in the Vancouver 2010 final.
The 38-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., is having another standout NHL season with 27 goals and 32 assists in 56 games.
McDavid is leading the NHL with 96 points in 58 games. The 29-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., was part of the 23-and-under Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The 27-year-old Makar, from Calgary, is tied for fourth among scoring in NHL defencemen with 57 points in 55 games.
Canada opens its tournament Thursday against Czechia.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2026.
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