When Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal for Canada in Vancouver, Scott Niedermayer had a pretty good view, to say the least.
“I was on the ice. I was back at the blue line and saw the play develop,” said the retired defenseman, who is from British Columbia. “He made a quick little shot. I don't even know if I saw him shoot it. I think I just saw it hit the back of the net, and then rushed over and we were celebrating. It was the highlight, for sure.”
Niedermayer served as the captain of Team Canada for those Winter Olympics. Going into these Games, he took the time to share what he saw from Crosby, then just 23 years old, now a fellow member of the Triple Gold Club.
Crosby had entered the league for the 2005-06 campaign, which was one of the best seasons of Niedermayer’s Hall of Fame career. It was his first with Anaheim after 12 years in New Jersey. After winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman the year before, Niedermayer led the Ducks to the Stanley Cup and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
In just a few short years, going into the 2010 Games, Crosby was coming off back-to-back Finals and a Stanley Cup championship of his own.
“At the time we got to the Olympics, the amount of success he'd already had in the NHL was amazing. So, I don't think he was sneaking up on anybody,” Niedermayer said with a smile. “Everybody knew what he was about, for sure.
“We probably crossed paths on the ice a couple times, but I had never met him in person. Obviously, heard a lot about him, seen a lot of highlights, right from a young age. He had a lot of attention on him, so knew who he was.”
Crosby was named an alternate captain alongside Jarome Iginla and Chris Pronger. Despite being the third-youngest player on the roster, Niedermayer remembers Crosby's maturity in that environment.
“I think he understood the details that it takes many of us a decade or more to learn (with) how to be a pro, that sort of thing,” Niedermayer said. “It seemed that he kind of understood most of that. I'm sure he'll say he had things to learn. But just the way he came prepared, the focus that he had on being ready to play and his job, all areas of the game, both ends of the rink, all those types of things... just played a very mature game and handled himself the same way.”
Particularly in that Gold Medal Game against the United States, as the Americans had rallied from a 2-0 deficit to even the score with seconds left in regulation. Niedermayer was on the ice for that goal as well.
“There’s just a pit in your stomach realizing, oh, we had the game won, and all of a sudden, now we don't,” Niedermayer said. “Regrouping and the guys going out and just being aggressive and having confidence that we were going to win it, and then Sid scoring that goal – a pretty crazy thing. That's why sports is great. That’s why hockey is great, to watch, to play. It's up and down and all over the place.”
Crosby’s overtime winner was storybook stuff in every sense, and is one of the greatest moments in the history of the game. And for the Kid to be the author is what stands out to Niedermayer.
“I think for him to be able to be the guy scoring that goal, there's a lot of pressure on these young players that obviously are good hockey players,” Niedermayer said. “There's a lot expected of them, and it's nice when they are able to sort of get those things done and sort of have something to hang their hat on like that. It’s an amazing moment.”
Sixteen years later, Crosby is headed to his third Olympics, and second as captain. He’s now the oldest player on the roster, but looking at his numbers, they’re on par with early in his career. Crosby’s consistency, and how he conducts himself, impresses Niedermayer the most when looking at what he’s been able to accomplish.
“He just goes out there, does his job better than anybody, works as hard as anybody. And obviously, we can see that now he's 38, and he's still doing it, and he's still one of the best players in the game,” Niedermayer said.
“And I think that really speaks to how he approaches it off the ice, takes care of himself, it's just really impressive. I mean, you always think, what more can he do to impress an ex-hockey player? But then he comes up with something, and here he is at that age, as good a year as he's ever had. So, a great player that deserves all the accolades and words of amazement that he gets, for sure.”
