Crosby says McLellan 'really good' coach: report

Sidney Crosby said he was impressed by coach Todd McLellan, who was hired by the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

McLellan was coach and Crosby was captain of Canada, which won the IIHF World Championship gold-medal game in Prague on Sunday.

"He was really good. The whole staff was really organized," Crosby told ESPN.com on Tuesday. "We had to adjust a little bit playing on the big ice, and all the European teams know how to use it to their advantage and how to play on it. But everything was pretty clear-cut as far as exactly what we needed to do. Nothing surprised us."

Crosby joined the Canada team after his Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Canada was undefeated in 10 games and outscored its opponents 66-15, including a 6-1 win against Russia in the championship game.

"For being a short-term event, we were really organized in the way we needed to play," Crosby said. "That [preliminary-round] game against Sweden, we're down 3-0, [McLellan] came in and definitely sent a message to us that we needed to be better (Canada won 6-4).

"It's probably not the easiest thing to do when you just get a group together like that. But he had a good read and a really good pulse and it was really good for us."

McLellan told the Edmonton Sun he talked to Crosby about the pressure that will be on Connor McDavid, the Erie Otters forward expected to be chosen by Edmonton with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Crosby was the top pick in the 2005 draft.

"One of the things I did was spend some time with Sidney and ask him what it was like as a young 18-year-old coming up that way, some of the hardships he may have had or some of the things he appreciated ... that his teammates or the organization did for him," McLellan told the newspaper.

McDavid has been called the best prospect in 30 years by former Oilers great Wayne Gretzky.

"It's tough to be that player in this world, especially in a Canadian market, but Connor will be fine," McLellan said. "He'll get what he needs from the Oilers organization, the coaching staff and his teammates."

McLellan was introduced by the Oilers on Tuesday. He left the San Jose Sharks in April after coaching them for seven seasons.