Connor McDavid and Team Canada are seeing red—or better yet, gold. Despite facing much uncertainty around Sidney Crosby’s status in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Great White North can almost taste what it’s always dreamt of. With the finish line just inches away from the team, head coach Jon Cooper voiced an honest opinion on McDavid’s growth.
“I’m seeing much more out of the group now, especially Connor [McDavid],” Cooper commented, per TSN. “Not that he wasn’t comfortable [last year], but I think there was a lot of uncertainty because we hadn’t seen best-on-best and this group hadn’t been together for so long, and in this tournament he’s been fabulous.”
Needless to say, Jon Cooper’s words may have come at the perfect time, as Connor McDavid and Team Canada scramble to weather the storm after Sidney Crosby went down with an injury.
Cooper and his staff refuse to confirm whether Crosby is out for the remainder of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Still, after McDavid and Canada received a key injury update on Crosby, it appears the captain now faces a steep uphill battle if he hopes to return to the ice.
McDavid is put on notice
Though McDavid is used to getting praise, he is also accustomed to being on the receiving end of candid shots. That duality follows him in Milan, just as it does back in the NHL with Edmonton.
Recently, McDavid received a warning from Finland’s head coach Antti Pennanen, as the “Suomi” are set to battle the Maple Leafs for a ticket to the gold-medal game. All is fair in love and war. So it’s only fitting that there are no holds barred in the Olympics, whose origins are closely intertwined with warfare.
Will McDavid captain Team Canada if Crosby is out?
Due to international hockey rules, every team is required to have a captain in its active lineup. Under normal circumstances, Crosby would never be stripped of his title as Captain Canada. However, if he is indeed ruled out for the semifinal against Finland, an emergency captain must be named.
Based on Cooper’s statements, along with what his teammates say about him—and last but certainly not least, his impact on the ice—it’s easy to imagine McDavid wearing the C. Still, the last thing Canada will do is lose hope in Crosby. If there’s a way back onto the ice, they know their captain is the only person capable of finding it.