The Athletic has live coverage of Canada vs. Finland and USA vs. Slovakia in the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey semifinals.
MILAN — It probably wasn’t by design, but Connor McDavid was first on the ice for practice Thursday.
No. 97 is already leading this team on the ice with arguably the best hockey he’s ever played in his career, 11 points (2-9) leading the Olympic tournament.
But suddenly, in the aftermath of Sidney Crosby’s injury, he’s leading Team Canada in other ways.
While head coach Jon Cooper wasn’t ready to go there Thursday, refusing to rule Crosby out of the tournament, international rules stipulate someone has to wear the captain’s ‘C’ on his sweater. And that someone will undoubtedly be McDavid in Friday’s semifinal if No. 87 is indeed out as expected.
What has McDavid learned from Crosby’s style of leadership?
“That’s a good question,” the Edmonton Oilers captain said Thursday after practice. “I think Sid is just himself, and it doesn’t need to be anything more or less. I think everybody’s different in their own way. Obviously, everybody goes about things differently. That being said, Sid’s an unbelievable leader, and everybody here watches him and is trying to learn off him.”
What is true, however, even before Crosby’s injury, is that the torch had started to be passed over gradually to McDavid. Perhaps that began the moment McDavid scored the championship-winning goal at 4 Nations.
In McDavid’s second best-on-best event in 12 months, he has organically expanded, at his own pace, into a bigger leadership role on Team Canada.
“I’ve watched it grow,” Cooper said of McDavid’s form of leadership. “You know, you get to that 4 Nations tournament, and I think everybody was looking to Sid in that tournament. Guys like (Drew) Doughty and (Brad) Marchand, the guys that have been there for a number of years were the more vocal guys who stepped up. But I’m seeing much more out of the group now, especially Connor. I think he’s much more — not that he wasn’t comfortable, but I think there was a lot of uncertainty, especially because we hadn’t seen best on best and this group hadn’t been together for so long. In this tournament, he’s been fabulous.”
And that was true even before Crosby’s injury. Now that becomes paramount in a do-or-die semifinal game with a very tough Finland team on Friday.
I asked McDavid about his comfort level taking on a bigger leadership role on the bench and in the dressing room, while keeping in mind that there are a lot of leaders on Team Canada to rally around, not just him.
“We’ve got lots of guys that lead,” McDavid said. “That’s the beauty of this team. Everybody in that room is a leader in their room. That won’t be an issue.”
And the thing is, even if Crosby is sidelined, that doesn’t mean he’s not around the team.
“He’s Sidney Crosby. He’s gonna have a big influence, no matter what,” McDavid said. “In the lineup, not in the lineup, he’s gonna have a big influence. That’s what he does.”
The void, though, is hard to put into words. Hearing these NHL stars on Team Canada marvel at Crosby’s influence over the past two weeks speaks to how unique his aura has been.
“I don’t even know what words to use,” said Doughty, the only other player to skate alongside Crosby in two previous Olympics. “I mean, he’s the guy that showed all the young guys, young players growing up, what it means to be Canadian, what it means to be a Canadian hockey player … So that just shows you how special it is.”
Sam Bennett’s front-row seat to Crosby last year at 4 Nations and now at the Olympics has left him impacted.
“It’s amazing. It’s the most beneficial for me as a player, and I think even as a person, just watching him, how he goes about his day-to-day, how he treats everyone,” Bennett said. “How he leads by example. Really, everything that he does, I just wanna do the same things. I think he does everything right. And there’s a reason why he is who he is, and why he’s had so much success over his whole career.”
Having said that, if there’s anyone who can step into those legendary leadership skates, it’s indeed McDavid. His play is already doing it.
“I can’t say enough good things about him,” Doughty said. “Never played against a player like him in my entire career. And, you know, great guy off the ice, fun to hang around, and then when it’s game time, he’s dialed in and ready to go. And he puts that jersey on and he’s the best player on the ice every night.”
Bennett, last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner as NHL playoff MVP, has gone head-to-head with McDavid in two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, the Florida Panthers coming out on top both times. But what Bennett is seeing now as a teammate of McDavid’s on this Olympic stage, well, it’s a whole other thing.
“It’s incredible,” Bennett said. “It’s amazing to watch. You can see how important this is to him, how much he wants it. He’s given everything he’s got — playing physical, doing everything he does. He’s on another level right now.”
McDavid will need to stay on that special orbit for Team Canada to win two more games here. The potential absence of Crosby will put even more on McDavid’s plate.
No. 97 has already formed a special chemistry with 19-year-old wonderkid Macklin Celebrini. When Team Canada decides to sprinkle in some Nathan MacKinnon on that unit, it’s something to behold.
MacKinnon and Celebrini both scored in Wednesday’s quarterfinal game. It’s not all on McDavid’s shoulders.
But don’t kid yourself, if Crosby isn’t in uniform Friday, every single player in that dressing room will take their cue from the best player in the world.
And I think he’s ready for that new level of Team Canada responsibility.
