Crosby feels junior captain’s troll-induced pain, knows it’ll pass

Opinion

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This article was published 04/01/2019 (2437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby has provided fans plenty of iconic moments in his hockey career, with his "golden goal" at the 2010 Winter Olympics right up there in Canadian sporting history.

But the three-time Stanley Cup champion knows there can also be a dark side to the game in this country, one that has become much more visible with the rise of social media.

As the Pittsburgh Penguins captain told me Friday, he knew what was coming the moment he watched Canada get knocked out of the world junior championship earlier this week with a quarter-final loss to Finland.

For some, the passion predictably became poisonous. And the venom was directed at 19-year-old Maxime Comtois, who had the audacity to miss a penalty shot in overtime. How dare he, right?

Of course, it proved costly when the plucky Finns scored a few minutes later to eliminate Canada before a stunned audience in Vancouver, sending them packing without a medal on home turf for the first time ever.

As Crosby suspected, the trolls were quickly out in full force.

"That’s immediately what I thought when I saw the penalty shot. And just the amount of pressure that’s on a young kid. It’s too bad that people have to react that way. And with social media it kind of gives them that opportunity," Crosby said during a lengthy chat before his team took on the Winnipeg Jets.

"As Canadian hockey fans, we have a lot of pride and we have high expectations and that’s fine. Everyone is going to evaluate however these things go, whether it’s an international tournament at the world junior level, the world championship, that’s normal. But there comes a point where if you cross that line and start criticizing other things, not a play or something like that, when it becomes personal, that’s when you cross the line a little bit. Especially for someone that age."

The online attacks became so vicious, so vile, that the agency representing the Anaheim Ducks draft pick released a statement Thursday calling out the "shameful and incomprehensible" behaviour of what they called a "few cowards who can hide behind social media."

That a group of anonymous mouth-breathers with egg avatars, a handful of followers and access to electronic devices can launch these kind of attacks, seemingly without consequence, should have us all shaking our heads. Nothing would please me more than to see these keyboard warriors held accountable.

But we might also want to take a look in the mirror as well and ask whether we’re helping create this kind of toxic culture. After all, our hockey-obsessed society hypes the world juniors for months and builds these kids up to almost mythical levels, then acts surprised when some look to tear them down as soon as things go wrong.

Paul Maurice certainly sees it that way.

“You know it’s two sides of the same coin. When things go very well, we exult them to a point that’s not realistic, either," the Jets’ head coach said Friday.

"I think it’s terrible and I would admit to not having read much of it, but I do have an understanding of what he’s going through. It’s unfair, it’s also a realization that the world junior tournament is (like) pro sports, in one way or the other. I feel for him. I hope he puts it behind him, gets past it and realizes that you get named captain of a Canadian team like that for a reason. For character and certainly for your skill level, and that hasn’t gone away.”

Crosby, who played in two world junior championships for Canada, knows a few things about blocking out the hate while laying claim to the title of the NHL’s best player for several seasons. While he’s not actively checking his social media feed the way many teens are, Crosby still hears it on a nightly basis.

 

@RickCarpiniello – funny story from last night’s game. Guy sitting next to penalty box was lighting up Sid all game with some fantastic chirps. A trainer delivered this to him after the final buzzer. pic.twitter.com/4DZf9ZtlxF

— MG35 (@pickledotcom) January 3, 2019

 

Take Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York, for example. He was being chirped all night long by a fan near the penalty box, but then did something highly unusual following the game against the Rangers, which his team won 7-2. Crosby autographed a stick, writing "Good chirps. Take it easy on me next time!" and had it delivered to the loudmouth. That’s certainly one way to deal with a critic.

“He had me laughing a bit. I’ve been in that situation before, guys can kind of cross a line or take it a little far. I thought he did everything in pretty good taste. He had the section laughing, he had me and one of the officials in the box laughing. It was all in good fun and one of those things that doesn’t happen very often," Crosby said.

"I figured it would be fun to send one over. I had fun with it, but that’s not always the case.”

No, it’s certainly not. Good on Crosby for showing he’s got an all-star sense of humour to go with his incredible skill set, and probably winning over a few more fans in the process. As for Comtois, Crosby believes the young man will come out of this experience stronger, even if it might be tough to see any light right now.

"He’s going to have a great career and that’s not going to define who he is, that penalty shot. So I think the real fans and the people that are behind you, I think everybody’s there to support them," Crosby said.

"Anything can happen in hockey. You see the stick break, it was just one of those things. (Comtois) is obviously the captain of the team and a big leader for them and I just feel this is something he’s going to learn from and be better for it."

Sid the Kid also had some parting advice for Canadian hockey fans in general.

"It’s easy to be a good fan when you’re winning, but it’s a little tougher when you lose. I think everybody should keep that in mind," he said.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg