Macklin Celebrini will remain Canada’s captain for the IIHF World Hockey Championship even after Sidney Crosby’s last-minute addition to the team.
That was decided during a player-led discussion on the eve of the tournament in Fribourg and Zurich, Switzerland. Celebrini’s teammates, including Crosby, were in favor of the 19-year-old superstar continuing with the “C” for what amounts to the passing of the torch for the Canadian men’s program.
Not only does it make Celebrini the youngest Canadian captain ever at a senior-level men’s event, but it will mark the first time Crosby has represented his country without the “C” since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Instead, he’ll join John Tavares and Ryan O’Reilly as alternate captains for the team.
Crosby was only added to the roster Tuesday — two days after Celebrini had been named captain and donned the “C” in an exhibition game. He certainly didn’t sound too concerned about reprising his usual role while speaking with reporters before Thursday night’s meeting to finalize the leadership group.
“Yeah, we’ll figure it out,” Crosby said. “That’s not something that we’ll need to spend much time on. I’m really happy to be here. (Celebrini has) had an unbelievable year. He looks amazing out here. I can see why he got selected.
“He’s got so many great leadership qualities.”
Celebrini made such a strong impression on Crosby at last year’s World Championship that he ended up earning an invite to train with him and Nathan MacKinnon in Halifax last summer. That was a precursor to his breakthrough 115-point season for the San Jose Sharks. He also made the trip to the Milan Olympics in February and led Team Canada with five goals in six games, being named to the tournament all-star team.
The teenager has drawn comparisons to Crosby because of his competitive two-way game and easy-going demeanor. He’s viewed as the future of Canadian hockey, which explains why he was chosen to wear the “C” from a roster that includes several accomplished NHL veterans, including O’Reilly, Tavares, Mark Scheifele, Robert Thomas, Morgan Rielly, Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard.
Celebrini called it a “huge honor” and praised Crosby, who is looking to add a second World Championship gold to his two Olympic gold medals and victories at the 2016 World Cup and 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
“I mean, everybody knows he’s Captain Canada,” Celebrini said. “He’s been the captain of the national team for so many years, and he’s the face of (hockey in) Canada — the face of hockey in general.”
Just like at last year’s World Championship, where Canada’s unbeaten run was ended by a shocking quarterfinal loss to Denmark, it appears that Crosby and Celebrini will play together. They skated on a line with Scheifele ahead of Friday’s tournament-opening game against Sweden.