Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid were planning something big for the Olympics!
It's now official, NHL players will not be going to the Beijing Olympics next February, courtesy of the ravages of COVID-19.
This will be a HUGE missed opportunity, as we won't be able to watch Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid in action on the same team. It's a real shame because they literally trained together last summer to develop chemistry for the Olympics.
They had even described their association on the ice as "magical". Obviously, they expected to play on the same line, even though the popular opinion was that Crosby would play alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
That combination of talent would have been absolutely phenomenal.
A player development consultant, Darryl Belfry, was on hand with them when it happened. According to him, their connection was beyond anything you could imagine.
"They didn't pass the puck to each other, they passed the puck to the space. The puck goes into a space that only these two know, thanks to their collective genius. They have a two-goal lead and it was glorious to see them make scoring chances come out of nowhere."
"They can see where the offensive chances will come from and where others are trying to contain them. Other top players can do similar things, but not at this level. And they don't do big "zips", they do "flips" in a space...and away they go. That reasoning is amazing to watch...especially when you see it over and over and over again."
Another individual at these practice sessions mentioned that they are the perfect duo, thanks to their different strengths.
"Sid would put the pucks in and let McDavid skate on them. Sid is so good at protecting the puck that he could buy time and allow McDavid to be like a big receiver running to the end zones."
Belfry finished by adding that no defenseman could contain such a force of nature like this.
"The other players would say, 'You're not just playing against those two, you're playing against space. You don't know where the next threat will come from. You can't defend that, it's crazy. Physical gifts are one thing, but the most impressive thing is thinking two or three levels ahead of everyone else and putting yourself on the same plane."
COVID-19 will have robbed us of this masterpiece...
Maybe the NHL will rectify this by hosting a World Cup eventually, who knows?
