For the first time ever, Connor McDavid is officially Captain Canada at the Olympics.

With Sidney Crosby out with an injury, McDavid will wear the ‘C’ for Team Canada on Friday in their semifinal matchup against Finland. Colorado Avalanche stars Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon will continue to serve as alternates.

Crosby first captained Team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games, where the Canadians took home the Gold medal. He served the same role at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, both golden finishes for Canada. Crosby suffered an injury against Czechia in the quarterfinals, and is now out for the semifinals. Per IIHF rules, another player must wear the ‘C’ when one captain goes out, and with Crosby gone McDavid was one of the most speculated to take on that role.

“Everybody was looking to Sid in that tournament. Guys like (Drew) Doughty and (Brad) Marchand, the guys that have been there for a number of years, were the more vocal guys who stepped up,” Canadian coach Jon Cooper said, via Sportsnet. “But I’m seeing much more out of the group now, especially Connor … Not that he wasn’t comfortable, but I think there was a lot of uncertainty, especially because we hadn’t seen best-on-best and this group hadn’t been together for so long. In this tournament, he’s been fabulous.”

Of course, McDavid is no stranger to leadership. In 2016, one year after he was selected first overall by the Oilers, McDavid was named Edmonton’s captain at just 19 years old, the youngest captain in NHL history. He joined a rich history of Oilers captains, including Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. McDavid served as Canada’s alternate captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off and through the tournament in Milan so far.

Making his Olympic debut this year, McDavid has a tournament-leading 11 points, tallying two goals and nine assists in just four games. He famously scored the golden goal in overtime at the 4 Nations Face-Off, giving Canada the win over their American rivals.

McDavid will continue to anchor Canada’s top line, with Macklin Celebrini and Tom Wilson as wingers. In Crosby’s absence, Nick Suzuki will play third-line centre, with Seth Jarvis taking his role on the wing. Jordan Binnington gets the start for Canada, with puck drop scheduled for 8:40 MT.

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