Former Teammate Dishes on Crosby, Canada and a Stellar Career

Perhaps there was pressure on Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby to push to be able to play for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-off that starts Wednesday night. It all worked out; Crosby, who missed the Penguins’ final two games last weekend before the NHL went on break for the tournament, declared himself fit to play after participating in Team Canada’s practice on Monday.

The tournament no doubt will present another sort of pressure for Crosby, particularly when he plays games in Montreal. Boston is a co-host.

Just ask former Penguins teammate Brooks Orpik, who has seen up close the way Crosby is celebrated and swarmed when he is playing in his native Canada – particularly when he is wearing the Maple Leaf.

Orpik was an opponent when Crosby had his defining moment playing for Canada. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Orpik played for the United States, which advanced to the gold-medal game against Canada. Crosby famously took a pass from Jarome Iginla and beat goaltender Ryan Miller to win the game in overtime for the Canadians, what has long been dubbed the Golden Goal.

Orpik, who now works in development for the Washington Capitals, has seen the zealous, and overzealous, fans who push to get close to Crosby when he is in his home country.

“They were always super excited to see Sid,” Orpik said. “Looking back on it, it’s amazing. He handled it great, and I think he embraced it, but there was also a lot of pressure that came along with it, too. You would never know it if you watched the way he handled himself.”

Orpik believes it’s difficult for Americans to understand the place Crosby holds in Canada. It far exceeds his popularity in the United States, at least outside of Pittsburgh, despite Crosby’s three Stanley Cups, assault on NHL records and sure Hall of Fame track.

“Obviously, with basketball and football here, and even baseball, you see a lot of other athletes that are front and center in terms of commercials or marketing ability,” said Orpik, who won a Stanley Cup with Crosby and the Penguins in 2009.

Orpik said Crosby was already huge in Canada before the Golden Goal.

“Maybe ‘solidify’ is a good word,” Orpik said of what that huge goal did for Crosby in Canadians’ eyes, “but I think everything he did kept building his resume, whether it was his overall work in the game, or just specifically with Canada. I’m sure it got a big boost, especially because the game was in Canada. It’s like that one special moment that people can always draw back on.”

Crosby and Canada will be playing Wednesday in Montreal in the opening game of the 4 Nations, facing Sweden (which includes Penguins teammates Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell).

At 37, Crosby is the oldest player in the 4 Nations tournament. He has won two Olympic gold medals as well as hardware in the World Championships, but he hasn’t had a chance to play for Team Canada since a title run in the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

Orpik has little doubt Crosby will represent well, his age notwithstanding. You can count him among the many, many teammates and former teammates who got solidly sold on Crosby’s talent and resilience as his career has unfolded.

“I’d always marvel,” Orpik said. “I mean, he’s seven years younger than me. I would always tell people – and I wasn’t embarrassed to tell people – that there’s a lot of things I learned from him. Just watching the way he would handle certain situations. Like, there’s a lot of people who might think they work hard in practice on a consistent basis. All of a sudden, if you’re around him for a little bit, I think you probably reassess what you think working hard in practice is. That was always with him from a young age.

“You always hear some people who are like, ‘Oh, the puck always finds that guy in big moments.’ Well, if it always does, then it’s not by luck. He’s obviously putting himself in good spots. Also, there are some people who are afraid of those moments, and then some people who want to be the star in those moments, and that’s definitely how Sid is. He’s not afraid of failing or making a mistake. He wants to make a play in that moment. That’s what separates a lot of great players from good players.”