Sidney Crosby Faces Unique Challenges as He Prepares for Potentially Last Olympic Games

Sidney Crosby has been no stranger to pressure throughout his life. Starting with an interview at the tender age of seven and growing into one of the most touted players in hockey history, he has consistently delivered on high expectations. Yet a new kind of pressure awaits Crosby in Milan.

As the captain of Team Canada, Crosby is no stranger to the Olympics and the demands of international competitions. Having won gold in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014, this will be his third Olympic appearance. However, this time feels different for Crosby not only due to the aim for yet another gold medal but also because these could mark his final Olympic Games.

Besides the Olympics, Crosby has participated in various top-tier tournaments, including the recent 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, where Canada emerged victorious. At these events, Crosby captained the team and earned MVP honors at the World Cup of Hockey. Back in 2010, despite not being captain, he scored the decisive ‘golden goal’ on home soil at just 22 years old.

At this point in my career, I’ve learned to draw on my own experiences. That’s the way I look at it. It’s a trust thing. Do you trust your game? Do you trust all the work you’ve put in? I trust my game, and what I need to do, and what I believe in. So, when you can say that, I think it helps you deal with all the pressure.

The 38-year-old captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins is widely celebrated as one of the most exemplary captains in hockey. Growing up, Crosby’s exceptional skills meant he often played with older teams and thus didn’t always serve as captain. The role of captain with both the Penguins and his national team fits Crosby perfectly.

His approach to leadership and Olympic triumphs portray the classic Crosby mindset:

For me, the biggest thing is always to remember that it’s a team sport. Hockey isn’t supposed to be about just one person or anything like that. It’s a team sport. You’re supposed to help each other. That’s what I’ve always believed, and I think that’s what works best. It’s a lot easier to play the game the way you want to play it, and to have success as a team, and to win together if everyone is on the same page and working together as a team. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it, and that’s what’s always worked best for us in the past.

Fellow Nova Scotian and Team Canada teammate Nathan MacKinnon, among others, appreciates Crosby’s team-first mentality.

“Sid just wants to win,” MacKinnon stated. “He always leads the way, and he leads the way the right way. You just follow him.”

Even new teammates like Brett Kulak, who came to Pittsburgh from Edmonton, have immediately picked up on Crosby’s selfless philosophy.

“You have to appreciate him and all that he does,” Kulak shared. “We all deal with pressure and stress that revolves around the game and wanting to win. But I can’t even imagine how much he has on his plate, that he’s able to process mentally. That’s one of the things that separates him. Another thing that separates him is his ability to be successful under pressure and in stressful situations.”

Crosby also has a rare ability to relate with everyone in a locker room and to make the pressure seem a little less daunting.

“That’s the thing,” Kulak said. “You know who he is, but he just always puts everyone in the locker room before himself. That’s the thing about him that you notice right away. He always puts everyone else first.”

Currently, in his 21st NHL season, Crosby continues to perform superbly. With 59 points in 56 games, he maintains a point-per-game pace, a feat he’s accomplished every season in pursuit of breaking the record set by Wayne Gretzky. His Penguins team, defying preseason predictions, is making a compelling run toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As he prepares for the Olympics, expectations in Canada are formidable. Yet, Crosby has been there before.

More than anything, I’m just trying to find balance with my game and with how I handle my time and everything else. I’m excited. But I also want my game to be in a good place going into the Olympics. You want to be playing well.

Even in a quieter stretch of recent games, Crosby remains focused on preparation. “I’ve been preparing for it,” he said. “It’s going to be a busy few days, even before our first game in the Olympics. So, I have to keep balancing that stuff.”

Reflecting on the setbacks that postponed Olympic play, Crosby looks forward to leveraging his previous Olympic experiences.

“I had a great time in Vancouver and Sochi, just incredible memories and accomplishments for us as a team,” Crosby said. “And from what I’ve heard from people who are already over there, it’s beautiful and things are going really great. So, to get to go one more time? I just look at it as a great opportunity more than anything. You never know when you’re going to get to go again.”

At his age, Crosby acknowledges the possibility that this might be his final Olympics, even if he hasn’t expressly stated it. By the next Winter Games in 2030, he would be 42. If this is indeed his last appearance on the grand international stage, Crosby desires to leave an indelible mark and keep his unblemished record intact.

You can look at it that way. I just can’t wait to get there, to be a part of it, to be surrounded by other Olympians.

When asked what a third gold medal would mean to him, Crosby succinctly expressed, “It would mean everything.”