Team Canada names its first three roster players for the Olympics

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong made his first announcement today concerning his roster for Team Canada at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics naming Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to his team's initial roster.

The 34 year old Crosby will presumably be named team captain and it will mark his third time representing his home country at the Olympics, having won gold medals in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada and 2014 in Sochi, Russia. He was an alternate captain in his Olympic debut in 2010 and scored arguably the biggest goal in Canadian hockey history when he potted the gold medal, overtime winner on home soil to deliver, as CTV broadcaster Chris Cuthbert called "Once in a lifetime Olympic gold!"

Apologies to our American readers here, but Crosby delivered a truly fairytale moment for Canadian hockey fans young and old. So... how did he follow up his legendary performance in 2010? He captained the 2014 Olympic team to an even more dominant run, going undefeated in the tournament and trouncing every team along the way. 

Sid the Kid has also represented Canada on the international stage in several other events, collecting five gold medals and a silver medal:

Gold Medals:

2016 World Cup of Hockey

2015 World Championship

2014 Olympics

2010 Olympics

2005 World Junior Championship

Silver Medal:

2004 World Junior Championship

As for McDavid, this will be his first time representing Canada at the Olympics, seeing as how NHLers were not a part of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. He has however won gold three times for Canada internationally at the World U18 Championships, the World Junior Championships (2x) and at the IIHF World Championships. He was too young for Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey however and was a big part of the boisterous under-24 Team North America team that featured himself alongside other young superstars like Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Eichel. Needless to say, it'll be very, very, VERY exciting to see him on the Olympic stage.

As for Pietrangelo, he's simply a workhorse style defenseman with a long history of representing Canada at every level. Factor in his longtime relationship with GM Armstrong and he's a no-brainer pick to join this team.