The excitement has reached a fever pitch as NHL players gear up to play on the biggest international stage for the first time in more than a decade. Team Finland will go the extra mile to defend the championship.
Armed with Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, and Anton Lundell, among others, they have the resources to repeat their gold-medal history. But competition will be fierce, especially from Team Canada, which boasts some of the greatest NHL stars of all time and has given the community a glimpse of its projected Olympic lineup.
Mitch Marner is Sidney Crosby’s Wingman for the Milan-Cortina Olympics
Team Canada is meeting Czechia at the Milano Santagiulia IHO Arena on Feb. 12Â to inaugurate the Olympic madness. Fans could not be more ready for the USA-Canada rivalry that is expected to unfold in Italy. To take the drama up a notch, we finally have an idea of Team Canada’s projected lineup, and it is as formidable as one can expect.
Seasoned Olympian Sidney Crosby will captain Team Canada, and Mitch Marner is expected to be right by him. As per Pierre LeBrun’s social media post, San Jose Sharks’ standout rookie, Macklin Celebrini, and the Washington Capitals’ notorious Tom Wilson will form the first line along with the Edmonton Oilers captain, Connor McDavid.
“Celebrini-McDavid-Wilson is a line in practice right now for Team Canada, MacKinnon between Marchand and Suzuki. Crosby between Stone and Marner. Horvat between Hagel and Reinhart. Bennett/Jarvis,” LeBrun shared on his social media.
Marner will be on the same line as his Vegas Golden Knights teammate, Mark Stone. Stone and the former Maple Leafs star will be flanking Crosby on both sides, ensuring unparalleled depth. While there is still time before Canada takes on the rink in their maiden game, coach Jon Cooper has stated that these lines have been in place for some time.
“With practice closed to the media, put Cooper on the spot and asked if he’d changed any lines. Said everything was exactly the same. No super secret stuff going on. First Olympics of four I’ve covered where teams have the option of closing practices to the media,” TSN’s Ryan Rishaug shared on his social media.
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For Celebrini, the Olympic stage is an opportunity like no other to prove his mettle as a hockey player. The San Jose Sharks star is among the top five highest scoring skaters so far this season, right behind McDavid, MacKinnon, and Nikita Kucherov. At 19, Celebrini has truly earned the honor to play alongside the Oilers captain.
“Take his age out of it. He’s a helluva hockey player. He may be 19 years old — like, his physical body is — but his acumen for the game is not. He’s wise beyond his years,” Cooper shared about Celebrini, as reported by Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
Team Canada has balance, grit, and is fueled by a passion to bring glory to their country. Crosby and company are a force to be reckoned with and pose a severe threat to each of their opponents at the Olympic stage.
