A prestigious honour for any Canadian hockey player is the captaincy of a team representing their country. The leadership team for Team Canada is the reason why Team Canada remains the standard when it comes to best-on-best hockey. There’s a long-standing, proud tradition in Canada of being the best at hockey. And who better than Sidney Crosby to lead this edition of Team Canada in the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. Furthermore, Cale Makar and Connor McDavid have been named assistants. This headlines the other news on the tournament, after Alex Pietrangelo was ruled out for this year’s tourney earlier this week.
Team Canada, Sidney Crosby, and the Rest of the Countries’ Leadership is Set
It is something that has reined since the beginning of the sport. Down the road, it will be interesting to see as the US National Team Development program continues to improve its development of high-flight, top-tier NHL hockey players. You know the Hughes brothers (Quinn, Jack, even Luke), Papi Auston Matthews (who happens to wear the C for Team USA). It’s hard to distinguish between this being anything but a golden era in the great game. The war in Ukraine continues to be a downfall inadvertently on hockey. Hockey should be one of the factors in changing the world. Political landscape is a long storied history of bringing together, rival hockey nations. Don’t forget we do need to make some stats. Hence, the top-20 scorers compiled since 2014-15.
| RANK | NAME | Country | Pts | GP | G | A |
| 1 | CAN |
1049
|
690
|
356
|
693
|
|
| 2 | RUS |
930
|
721
|
334
|
596
|
|
| 3 | GER |
926
|
770
|
383
|
543
|
|
| 4 | CAN |
914
|
761
|
330
|
584
|
|
| 5 | CAN |
882
|
775
|
334
|
548
|
|
| 6 | RUS |
833
|
720
|
286
|
547
|
|
| 7 | USA |
821
|
757
|
304
|
517
|
|
| 8 | CZE |
788
|
727
|
372
|
416
|
|
| 9 | CAN |
783
|
782
|
328
|
455
|
|
| 10 | RUS |
773
|
782
|
454
|
319
|
|
| 11 | CAN |
767
|
803
|
340
|
427
|
|
| 12 | CAN |
744
|
722
|
339
|
405
|
|
| 13 | USA |
742
|
762
|
242
|
500
|
|
| 14 | CAN |
741
|
776
|
314
|
427
|
|
| 15 | FIN |
729
|
725
|
270
|
459
|
|
| 16 | CAN |
723
|
818
|
241
|
482
|
|
| 17 | SLO |
708
|
818
|
229
|
479
|
|
| 18 | CAN |
707
|
627
|
209
|
498
|
|
| 19 | RUS |
698
|
674
|
267
|
431
|
|
| 20 | CAN |
697
|
764
|
221
|
476
|
What About Team Canada’s Dominance in 2025
Back to team Canada, and what the leadership group means to the entire hockey world. Just take a look at the leading scorers since 2014-15. Ten of them are Canadian. One might think that for Team Canada because you have Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar, that there’s a reason you’re the standard of the who’s who in the hockey world. Conversely, it is more than that.
Team Canada has rarely lost best-on-best hockey since its inception in the 1972 Summit Series. Since that time, most of the greatest NHL hockey players have been Canadian. Because, it was before that time, that it was very rare for the NHL not to have Canadians exclusively making up NHL rosters.
Chicago Blackhawk fans will point to Stan Makita as a pioneer to the game back in the 1960s. His tremendous scoring ability always remains locked into history. Jaromir Jagr would later try to follow his footsteps in the great Czechoslovakian heritage.
So, when you think about the Team Canada roster, just think about where these players rank in the last ten years of sporting greatness. And, some of them are still relatively young. They are not beyond their top level of hockey that they’ve ever played and because of their all-time greatness, it makes this such an intriguing tournament.
What Does This Year’s Tournament Have in Store
In saying that, look at the all-around talent this tournament showcases. Aleksander Barkov and Roope Hintz lead the way for Team Finland, and don’t forget the (now) teammates for the Carolina Hurricanes, Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho. Barkov, for example, has established himself as the premier two-way forward in the game, even rivaling McDavid as the best, NHL forward currently. That is quite significant when you consider the run that McDavid has been on over the past few years, looking at combined regular season and playoff stats. This tournament also features great Swedish players like Victor Hedman, Mika Zibanejad, and Erik Karlsson.
Sidney Crosby, on being named Captain of Team Canada at #4Nations
pic.twitter.com/pcVhOuaRzy
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 31, 2025
So, as we present you the leadership for Team Canada, let’s not forget the history of the significance of this achievement. This year’s 4-Nation tourney promises to be on another level. Sidney Crosby can easily carry that pressure on his back, just like he has done back to his time with Team Canada, winning back-to-back World Junior tournaments in 2004 and 2005.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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