Canadian hockey legends, led by Savard, are setting the stage with strong opinions as the NHL confirms its long-awaited return to the Olympic tournament after more than a decade away. Now, all eyes are on today’s stars to deliver.

With the goal of building a team capable of reclaiming Olympic dominance, Crosby will join stars such as Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar on the roster Canada is expected to use for the tournament. At the same time, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ icon is receiving plenty of encouragement.

Savard’s message to Crosby

“I have great respect for Sidney, for his play and his leadership,” Savard said about Crosby’s Olympic role while attending a charity golf tournament at Le Mirage. His words of support for the Penguins captain were far from the only ones.

More legends speak about Crosby

“I’m sure he is excited. As he’s getting a bit older, I’m sure he cherishes this opportunity. He’ll do a good job and be the leader of the team,” said legend Darryl Sittler, who scored the championship-clinching overtime goal in the 1976 Canada Cup.

Another legend joining in the praise for Crosby was Lanny MacDonald. “Sidney is my all-time favorite player, with all due respect to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon and others. He does everything right. He makes everyone on the ice better just by being Sidney. I think it’s absolutely fabulous that NHL players are back in the Olympics,” he said.

Crosby in the Winter Olympic Games

Crosby’s long-awaited return comes after a history of glory for the Penguins captain. The 38-year-old and Stanley Cup champion forward will play in his third Olympic Games wearing Canada’s jersey, having already won gold in both 2010 and 2014.

In total there will be 7 sports distributed in 15 disciplines that make up the Olympic calendar. These are: Biathlon; Bobsledding: Bobsleigh and Skeleton; Curling; Ice hockey; Luge; Skating: Figure skating, Short track speed skating and Speed skating; Skiing: Alpine skiing, Cross-country skiing, Freestyle skiing, Nordic combined, Ski jumping and Snowboarding.

Another of the remarkable things about these Olympic Games is the parity in the number of men and women participating in the event. The gender balance is 55 per cent male / 45 per cent female, that means that this will be the most gender-balanced edition of the Olympic Winter Games to date.

How many athletes will participate in the Games?

It is expected that for this edition the participating athletes will be around 2900 from more than 110 different nations. Team USA will be made up of 200 participants. The oldest Team USA athlete is 40-year-old snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, while the youngest qualifier, is the 16-year-old figure skater Alysa Liu.

The curious fact about these games is that all the individual U.S. gold medalist from the Olympics Games Sochi 2018 will return all return to Beijing 2022, and it is the first time this happens since Grenoble 1968. These athletes are: halfpipe skier David Wise, Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and snowboarders Jamie Anderson, Chloe Kim, Red Gerard and White.