In addition to naming Sydney Crosby as the Captain of Team Canada, head coach Jon Cooper shared his early plans for the team’s lines.
Nothing is set in stone once the tournament starts.
The coach opened up about his lineup with this remark:
“If you watched the 4 Nations tournament, the team we began with against Sweden was not the same one that faced the U. S. four games later,” Cooper mentioned. “You have to begin somewhere, and this is our starting point tonight. ”
It looks like a solid beginning. We’ve been hearing a lot about the first line, and now we see who will be playing alongside McDavid: young player Macklin Celebrini and tough veteran Tom Wilson.
“I’ll catch up with my skating.”
Our first peek at Team Canada’s forward group has two compelling characters way up on Line 1 with Connor McDavid 🇨🇦 https://t.co/9eZmkPfHll pic.twitter.com/SSUOZIVAii
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) February 9, 2026
With all the talent on Team Canada, he could have picked names randomly, and they would still perform well.
However, he put in hours of effort to make his line combos.
Celebrini – McDavid – Wilson
Marchand – MacKinnon – Suzuki
Stone – Crosby – Marner
Hagel – Horvat – Reinhart
Jarvis – Bennett
“It’s never really a situation where a player is saying: ‘I only want to play with that guy.’ No one does that. But what helps the team? Some players are good at forechecking, while others focus on keeping the puck. ”
What an amazing first line! It has a mix of skills and plenty of offensive strength, along with physical toughness, experience, and youthful energy.
Celebrini is only 19, but he’s in the running for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the league’s best player; he has 81 points in 55 games and is leading his team to the playoffs.
On the other hand, Wilson is 31, making him the oldest rookie on Team Canada.
“I’ve played against Macklin and Connor many times, and it’s tough,” Wilson said. “Teaming up with them is way more enjoyable. They handle the puck so well. For me, I try to get open and let them do their thing. ”
“It’s not every day you get to play with someone like Connor, who is such an amazing skater. I’m more of a straight-line skater and I work hard. ”
Wilson, who is also a leader, is quickly building a connection with his teammates.
“He tells me, ‘Hey, I’m going to catch up to you. Maybe you don’t need to go there. Just spread out a bit, and I’ll keep up with my speed,’” Wilson explained. “It’s about making space for him instead of getting in his way.”
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