"Fantastic leadership group" "Stacked": NHL fans react as Canada announces Sidney Crosby as captain, MacKinnon, O'Reilly as alternates for Worlds

Team Canada is less than 24 hours away from beginning play in the preliminary round of the 2025 IIHF World Championships in Sweden.

The team has received a plethora of reinforcements over the last week and has its sights set on nothing less than a Gold medal. Now that the roster has been finalized, all that was left to be decided was the team captains.

On Friday, Hockey Canada finally revealed its leadership group for the upcoming tournament. To no surprise, Sidney Crosby will wear the C, while Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan O'Reilly will be the assistant captains.

NHL fans have started to react to the news on X (formerly Twitter).

"Fantastic leadership group," one fan wrote.

"Canada is pretty stacked," another fan wrote.

"I cant believe these three men have actually got me excited about this tourney!" one fan added.

More fan reaction has poured in on X.

"A former Av, a current Av, and a future Av," wrote one fan on X.

"Crosby wearing the C, fork found in kitchen," wrote another fan.

"Lets go!! Best of success to bring home Gold!" added one last fan.

The excitement level has risen considerably in recent days with the news of Crosby, MacKinnon, and other marquee players joining the team. Fans can't wait for another opportunity to cheer on some of the Canadians' best in an international tournament.

Team Canada appears to have their lines set for its tournament opener on Saturday

Fans got a sneak peek at the Canadians' projected lineup heading into Saturday's game against Team Slovenia.

Sports writer Ville Touru shared how the forwards were aligned at practice on Friday on X.

He then provided the defensive pairings.

In addition to these lines, Touru shared that the number one power play unit consisted of Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Bo Horvat, Travis Konecny, and Brandon Montour.

The Canadians certainly have the makings of a powerhouse, as superstars Crosby and MacKinnon will join forces with up-and-coming young stars Macklin Celebrini and Adam Fantilli, among others.

Team Canada will kick off its 2025 IIHF World Championship tournament on Saturday morning against Team Slovenia. The puck drops at 6:20 a.m. EST at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.