Will the Pens’ captain play at the World Championships?
Sidney Crosby lives at the rink, the Penguins’ captain was back on the ice yesterday at the practice facility with the injured players getting more work in.
Crosby is on the ice in Cranberry,working out with injured players, including Rutger McGroarty and P.O Joseph. If only the guy had a little commitment to this franchise … pic.twitter.com/N0HK6d9ugf
— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPGH) April 21, 2025
That leads to the topic about World Championships, which will be from May 10-25 this year in Stockholm. Crosby didn’t commit to playing for Canada, but he didn’t close the door on it either.
Sidney Crosby said he will take some time before deciding if he will play in World Championships. So, it’s a maybe.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 18, 2025
Slowing down has never been in Crosby’s thoughts, and as he ages the need to keep going with his training has only intensified.
“I don’t think I have that luxury (of taking long breaks) any more at my age,” Crosby said last week during breakdown day. “It’s better to kind of keep going at this point.”
Yohe had an interesting take on this too.
Lately, when addressing his conditioning and ability to remain essentially ageless, Crosby continually discusses his need to “keep going.” He said that, unlike when he was young, taking time off actually seems to hurt him these days, as it takes him longer to regain his legs and hands when he’s away from the rink. In other words, he’s working harder than ever to remain great.
It’s not unlike the late-career workout obsessions of Jaromir Jagr, who famously exhibited a similar belief that as long as he kept working on his craft and conditioning in a maniacal fashion that he could retain the essence of who he was as a player. Aging gracefully in a sport as difficult as hockey is no accident. Crosby is quite at the Jagr stage of getting the keys to the rink so he can get solo midnight skates just yet, but would it be a surprise if that was happening soon enough?
Crosby has only appeared in the World Championships twice, once after his NHL rookie season in 2006 and then again in 2015 after the Penguins had lost in the playoffs. Crosby captained Canada to a gold medal in 2015 to complete his membership in the the Triple Gold club.
It won’t be difficult for Crosby to get in touch with the brass, Kyle Dubas is serving as Canada’s general manager for this WC. The Penguins might not be participating in the playoffs but if Crosby follows his mantra of “keep going”, he could find a way to play some decently high-level hockey through the end of May before he starts his typical summer training camps around Canada and Los Angeles.
Next season will be a big one, and it features the 2026 Olympics and Crosby looking for a third Olympic gold medal. He’ll want to be in peak condition to do that, and the process for next season is going to start earlier than many might realize upon first glance should he decide to remain as active as possible by keeping his off-season as short as he can.