Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Alex Pietrangelo were named to the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team on Sunday, Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong announced.
These are the first three players submitted to compete for Team Canada in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.
“Those guys are at the top of their game in the League too, and they’re proven winners,” Armstrong said in an interview with NHL.com.
Crosby will be competing in his third Olympic Games. The first two, in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, Crosby helped Team Canada win the gold medal. The 34-year-old is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins and also captained Team Canada during its victorious World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Triple Gold Club member Sidney Crosby has been selected to Hockey Canada’s initial 2022 Olympic Roster
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— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 4, 2021
“I’ve talked to Sid more than any (player) just because of my past relationship with him, and he’ll be our leader,” Armstrong said. “We go back to the 2010 Olympics. I wouldn’t call us best friends, but I feel comfortable calling him on the phone, and he feels comfortable picking it up.”
Pietrangelo will be competing in his second Olympics for Canada. The Vegas Golden Knights defenceman anchored Canada’s dominant blue line during its gold medal run at the Sochi Olympics. Pietrangelo spent 12 seasons with the St. Louis Blues, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
McDavid will be playing in his first Olympic Games. The Edmonton Oilers captain is a two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner as the most valuable player in the NHL, all at the age of 24.
The Team Canada management group’s next task is to fill out the rester of the Olympic roster. It has until Oct. 15 to submit 55 players to join Crosby, McDavid and Pietrangelo.
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