Hockey legend Crosby 'grateful' for chance to play at Winter Olympics again
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- When Sidney Crosby, widely considered one of the greatest hockey players ever, captained Canada to its second straight Olympic gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, he likely didn't think he'd have to wait a dozen years before he got to compete at another Winter Olympics.
National Hockey League (NHL) stars made their Olympic debut in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, and went on to play at each of the next four editions. But they skipped the 2018 Olympics in South Korea's PyeongChang over player insurance and other logistical issues, and then missed the 2022 competition in Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now at 38, Crosby is gearing up for his third and potentially final Winter Games, an opportunity he doesn't take for granted.
In a recent interview with Olympics.com, Crosby fielded questions submitted by international media, including Yonhap News Agency, in the leadup to the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
Asked what a third Olympic gold medal would mean to him at this stage in his career, Crosby said, "It would mean a lot.
"Going through the last couple (of the Olympic Games) that we didn't end up going, and to know that to have another opportunity here to play and experience that, it would mean a lot," he said. "I think there is a lot of unknowns with those last couple Olympics, whether we'd have a chance to do it again. So personally, I think I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be able to do it again and would love to be able to win again."
Crosby's legacy in hockey is quite secure. He has helped his Pittsburgh Penguins to three Stanley Cups in the National Hockey League (NHL), and he is ninth on the all-time NHL points list with 1,694. Crosby is a two-time Hart Trophy winner as the regular-season MVP and also a two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP. He has led the NHL in points twice and in goals twice too.
Crosby has averaged at least a point per game in each of his first 20 seasons in the NHL, the longest such streak in league history.
And even to someone who has accomplished so much in the NHL, representing Canada at the Winter Olympics ranks "right up there with playing in the Stanley Cup Finals."
Crosby, of course, scored one of the most famous goals in Olympic hockey history, the overtime winner, or the golden goal, against the United States in the gold medal contest of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
"It's a different experience. It's a short-term event, but it's something that we all dream of being a part of," he said. "Just the whole Olympic experience, it is more than just being part of the hockey team. So just getting to represent your country and having that chance, I would have it right there."
With Canada being the title favorite, Crosby said high expectations placed on his country make the pursuit of the gold medal more rewarding.
"It means a lot, playing hockey, being Canadian; there's a lot of expectation," he said. "And the expectation when you go to the Olympics is to win gold. And the other countries are so good, and it's a small margin separating everybody. So I think, yeah, to be able to win and find a way to bring home gold, playing for Team Canada, that's pretty special."
In Italy in February, Crosby will be joined by a slew of youngsters with no prior Olympic experience. And his message to them was simple: have fun.
"I would just say enjoy the experience, not only as a hockey player, just being part of Team Canada," he said. "It's a team that's just greater than your hockey team. It's the Olympic team and so many athletes that have committed their whole life, dedicated their whole life to their sport and for that opportunity. So it's pretty cool to meet them and hear their stories and be a part of that. There's nothing really like it."
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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