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Jon Cooper Shares Incredible and Heartfelt Words on Sidney Crosby
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper spoke about what it means to have Penguins' Sidney Crosby playing for Team Canada at the Worlds, and he said he's a unicorn.
Sidney Crosby's decision to dress for Team Canada at the World Championship in Stockholm is not surprising.
While he hadn't participated in the Worlds since 2015, this is the first time in his career that he's missed the Stanley Cup playoffs three years running. With the Penguins rebuilding, Crosby has sought alternative ways to stay competitive.
He went on to skate after Pittsburgh's season concluded on April 17 and officially reported to Team Canada on May 5.
Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond revealed that Crosby had announced his intentions before Nathan MacKinnon's Avalanche were eliminated.
After Colorado's Game 7 loss to Dallas, MacKinnon soon followed Crosby, his buddy, onto the national team.
Their signing spawned a wave of commitments from other NHL veterans like Marc-André Fleury, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Schenn, Phillip Danault, Jared Spurgeon, and Mike Matheson.
Canada coach Jon Cooper referred to Crosby as "a unicorn" for committing to play at the Worlds.
"Sidney Crosby is a unicorn," Jon Cooper, Canada's Olympic coach, told The Athletic. "Somebody that's played as long as he has done and accomplished what he's accomplished - like, he's run out of trophy space - and yet he still, after two decades in the league, is giving up a big portion of his summer to play the game he loves for the country he adores. It's mind-blowing.
"It's just phenomenal leadership and a crazy passion for the game that few have ever matched."
"It's just phenomenal leadership and a crazy passion for the game that few have ever matched."
Canada has won 50 of their 56 games with Crosby on their roster
Canada was 50-6 with Crosby on the roster since the 2004 World Juniors, and Cooper was especially impressed with Crosby's low-key but uniting on-ice leadership at the recent 4 Nations tournament, a team that was filled with players who had grown up idolizing him.
"He carried a weight with all of them," Cooper said. "There's just something different about Sid."
Cooper believes Crosby competing at the Worlds is all part of a bigger picture: preparation to lead Canada's Olympic team next year.
Cooper will travel to Sweden this week to meet with Crosby, MacKinnon, and the other 4 Nations alumni: Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Binnington.
| POLL | ||
MAI 12 | 184 ANSWERS Jon Cooper Shares Incredible and Heartfelt Words on Sidney Crosby Is Sidney Crosby going to win a Championship with Team Canada at the Worlds? | ||
| Yes | 178 | 96.7 % |
| No | 6 | 3.3 % |
| List of polls | ||