Sidney Crosby on Sochi and the chance to repeat in Russia

PITTSBURGH - Perhaps the most cherished prize in Canadian sport is not proudly displayed dangling on a wall for all to see.

Nor is it perched majestically in a trophy case, serving as the glistening centrepiece in a glass-encased stage showcasing what stands to be a remarkable Hall of Fame career one day.

Nope, you won’t find Sidney Crosby’s 2010 Olympic gold medal in any of these places.

Instead, the immortal momento of Crosby’s Golden Goal is stuffed in a drawer back at his home in Coal Harbour, N.S., where it anonymously collects more dust than compliments.

“I don’t think I’ve looked at it since,” Crosby admitted the other day. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of it but I don’t think I’ve looked at it.

In the seven weeks that remain until the puck drops at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, replays of Crosby’s 2010 Olympic winning goal against U.S. goalie Ryan Miller will be shown over and over again. For a country that busted out in celebration from St. John’s to Squamish the instant that six-ounce rubber disc crossed the goal line, Canadians can never get enough of the Golden Goal, one of the most memorable moments in Canadian sports history.

For the author of that goal, however, it’s all about moving forward, not looking back.

To that end, Crosby is asked where the Golden Goal puck is. For that matter, what happened to the stick? And where are the gloves that he tossed up in the air in jubilation after he realized he had scored to make Canada Olympic champions?

“To be honest, I’m not sure,” he said. “I think they might be at the (Hockey) Hall of Fame.”

Indeed they are, serving as the foundations for the Hall’s “Golden Goal” display.

Make no mistake. Sid The Kid is fiercely proud of what he and his teammates accomplished in Vancouver.

As the clock ticks down to Team Canada’s quest for a Repeat In Russia, Sidney Crosby sat down with the Toronto Sunfor an exclusive one-on-one interview on all things Sochi. In the process, it quickly became evident that Sid The Kid has a ravenous hunger to help win a second consecutive Olympic gold for his country.

No word on if there is room in his drawer for a second medal. No worries. We’re confident he can find the space.

That’s not to take away from his heroics in Vancouver. He may never be able to top that drama. Maybe no one ever will.

At the same time, the 2010 Canadian team was led by the likes of Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Jarome Iginla, veterans who absorbed most of the criticism and pressure from an entire nation while youngsters like Crosby only had to worry about playing hockey.

Almost four years later, those three players have moved on, passing the torch to the likes of Crosby and Jonathan Toews.

“It’s going to be critical that these two understand the leadership they’ll bring to the table and I wanted to let them know that,” Babcock said in an interview on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre. “In Vancouver, they were young players who were still learning about the experience. Now, looking to Sochi, they are guys who are very comfortable in their own skins.

For his part, Crosby welcomes a leadership role, although it doesn’t necessarily mean it will come in a “rah-rah” fashion.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a different feeling this time around,” Crosby said. “In Vancouver, you came in not knowing what to expect. That’s why it was so important to have guys like Niedermayer and Pronger around. You learn from them, see how they conduct themselves, see how they handle things.

“It makes things much more comfortable heading into Sochi. You’re more familiar with how things work and what the experience will be like. It’s just natural that you feel more (of a leadership role). You feel more comfortable and more confident. You’re not so worried about every little thing.

“Those guys were team leaders. I’m sure some of us will now feel more comfortable in that role now that we’ve been through it.”

When Crosby’s Canadians humiliated Ovechkin’s Russians 7-3 in the 2010 Olympic quarterfinals, the Not-So-Great-Eight was crushed, calling it “a catastrophe” and saying he was “disgusted.”

“It’s hard to revive him after that loss,” Ovie’s mother Tatiana, told Russian news Sovetsky Sport at the time.

Driven by a quest for redemption, Ovechkin has become the face of the Sochi Games, becoming the first Russian to carry the Olympic torch during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece kicking off the famed torch relay.

If 2010 was a home game for Crosby, 2014 will be Ovie’s time to potentially shine on home turf.

“I think (the way Ovechkin) has embraced Sochi is understandable,” Crosby said of his long-time rival. “He’s a super-competitive guy. He’s very proud.

“I don’t see that being a real surprise. He’s and his team will bring everything they have. That’s to be expected.”

In a short tournament like the Olympics, knowing the style your coach likes to play certainly cuts down on the time it takes to become comfortable with the system.

In the case of Babcock, Crosby pretty much knows what the Team Canada bench boss is looking for.

“He has a system that is similar to the one we play in Pittsburgh,” Crosby said. “It certainly makes the transition easier.

“It’s a different country so obviously some of the experiences will be different,” Crosby said. “But I think having lived in the village in Vancouver was great preparation. I loved it.

“I enjoyed pretty much every part of it. It was great being among all the other Canadian athletes. There is a real camaraderie there about representing your country no matter what sport you play. You can’t see a lot of them perform because you’re busy with your own task at hand so it’s cool being able to see them in the village and chat with them.

“There are so many worthy guys, it’s hard to say,” Crosby said. “I feel like every day there’s another guy being talked about who’s playing well.

“That’s the key. Even when you see some of the projected lineups, they seem to change every day. Canada is fortunate in that we have a lot of depth.”

1) Be on the top of your game from the get-go because there is no feeling-out period.

“It’s a short tournament. A lot of times, if you lose, you are out. It can be one and done. It’s not like an NHL regular season or playoffs”

“That’s what pretty much happened in Vancouver. The games are going to get harder as the tournament goes on. You have to build on the momentum. That’s what we did in 2010.”

“On the bigger ice, you have to try to keep things to the outside a little bit more. That’s easier to do on the smaller ice surface. Guys have more time and space on the big ice, so, positionally, you have to be more sound and understand where everyone is around you out there.”

“Obviously you have to go a little further to get to from Point A to Point B. You have to realize that, because puck carriers have more time and space on an Olympic-sized rink, you sometimes only have a certain angle. That’s why you often have to back off a little more.”

As much as I love Sid and all he has done for Pittsburgh and the Penguins I can’t root for him in the Olympics.

Unfortunately Canadian hockey in the Olympics is like having to play the proverbial “Yankees”. They’re always a force to be reckoned with and always a favorite.

3 posted on 12/22/2013 4:14:28 PM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)

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