Sidney Crosby makes feelings known about playing with 'Nova Scotia mafia' for Team Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off

The National Hockey League is going to be taking a break later this month for the first 4 Nations Face-off, which will pit the best players in the league that represent Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland.

Not surprisingly, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been selected once again to represent his country on the international stage, and he's been named team captain for Canada. He'll be teamed up with fellow Nova Scotia natives Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand, both of whom were also named to the Team Canada roster.

Jokingly referred to as the "Nova Scotia mafia," Crosby talked about what it will personally mean for him to not only suit up once again for Canada, but to play with a pair of fellow Nova Scotians.

"Yeah, it's special," Crosby said. "I mean, growing up there, I think it's just something that we appreciate that we have the opportnity to do that. All being different ages, it doesn't always work out that way. So the fact that we can do it, I think that we just appreciate the opportunity. And like you said, whether we play on the same line or not, I don't think that's something I'm thinking about a whole lot.

"Just being on the same team for a group of guys that, you know, train together, seeing how they work in the summer and how much work they put into it and knowing what this means to them."

Sidney Crosby has been named the captain for Team Canada in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off

Crosby, who scored one of the most iconic goals in Canadian Olympic hockey history in 2010, was an easy choice for Team Canada to name their captain for the upcoming tournament.

“He does something monumental like that and yet you’ll never hear him talk about it,” said Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, a Team Canada assistant. “That’s Sid. That’s what makes him such a great leader. That’s what makes him the obvious choice to lead us in this 4 Nations tournament.”

Rick Tocchet knows as much as anyone the leadership qualities that Crosby possesses as a former Penguins assistant coach during their two most recent runs to the Stanley Cup.

The tournament, the first of its kind in NHL history, will take place starting on February 12 and run through February 20; the venues selected for the tournament are TD Garden in Boston and Bell Centre in Montreal.