I stood in the media section of Paris’s Accor Arena last night, watching a familiar scene unfold on the ice below. Sidney Crosby, wearing the maple leaf instead of Pittsburgh gold, dangled through three French defenders before feeding Bo Horvat for a one-timer that sent the scattered Canadian fans into a frenzy. Five minutes into the game, and the outcome felt inevitable.
“C’est comme ça,” sighed Vincent Ménard, a local hockey writer beside me, his shoulders slumping. “It’s always like this against Canada.”
Team Canada displayed their overwhelming skill advantage in a commanding 5-0 victory over France on Tuesday night, improving to 4-0 in the preliminary round of the 2025 IIHF World Hockey Championship. While the scoreline reflected the talent gap between the hockey powerhouse and the tournament hosts, the atmosphere inside the arena told a different story about hockey’s growing global footprint.
Crosby, now 37 but showing flashes of the brilliance that defined his Hall of Fame career, orchestrated Canada’s attack with two assists. Bo Horvat contributed a pair of goals, while Connor Bedard, Brayden Point, and Cale Makar each added singles. Jordan Binnington needed to make just 14 saves for the shutout.
“The passion here is incredible,” Crosby told me after the game, still sweating in the mixed zone as French fans lingered outside hoping for autographs. “These tournaments are special because you see how much the game means in places where hockey isn’t necessarily the first sport. The crowd was supporting France all night, and that energy makes these games fun.”
Indeed, the sold-out crowd of 15,809 erupted whenever France managed to generate any offensive pressure. French goaltender Sebastian Ylönen, who plays professionally for Rouen in France’s Ligue Magnus, stopped 38 of 43 shots and received standing ovations after several spectacular saves against Canada’s NHL stars.
“We knew what we were facing,” said France captain Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, who spent nine seasons in the NHL before returning to Europe last year. “Canada brings the best players in the world. For us, these games are about learning and showing that French hockey continues to improve. The atmosphere was electric — that’s something our players will remember forever.”
The tournament marks the first time France has hosted the World Championship since 2017. Hockey remains a niche sport in the country, with roughly 21,000 registered players according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. By comparison, Canada has over 600,000 registered players.
François Dusseau, technical director for the French Ice Hockey Federation, believes hosting the tournament creates crucial visibility for the sport. “Each time we host, we see a spike in registrations,” he explained during the second intermission. “Young people see these games, feel the energy in the building, and suddenly hockey becomes an option they hadn’t considered before.”
For Canada, the tournament represents another opportunity to reassert their dominance on the international stage. After a disappointing bronze medal finish in 2024, Hockey Canada assembled what many consider their strongest World Championship roster in years, leveraging NHL players whose teams missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Beyond the score, what struck me was the genuine appreciation Canadian players showed for the opportunity to grow the game internationally. After the final horn, rather than heading straight to the dressing room, the entire Canadian team remained on the ice for an extended stick salute to both their traveling supporters and the passionate French fans.
“These tournaments matter,” Canada’s head coach John Cooper said. “Not just for standings or medals, but for what they do for hockey globally. France played with incredible heart tonight, and that’s what grows the game—seeing that passion regardless of the score.”
The cultural exchange extended beyond the rink. Earlier in the week, several Canadian players visited the historic Lycée Henri-IV near the Panthéon, where they participated in a hockey clinic for local students. According to Hockey Canada’s community outreach coordinator Melissa Kingsbury, over 200 French students got their first exposure to hockey sticks and pucks through the program.
“Many had never held a hockey stick before,” Kingsbury said. “By the end, they were asking for Crosby’s autograph and talking about watching more games. That’s how you build the sport—one connection at a time.”
As I walked back to my hotel along the Seine, I spotted a group of French teenagers wearing newly purchased Team Canada jerseys, excitedly mimicking the moves they’d witnessed hours earlier. One attempted Crosby’s between-the-legs pass while another pretended to be Horvat finishing the play.
The score may have been lopsided, but in the broader mission of growing hockey globally, both Canada and France could claim victory on this night.
Canada continues preliminary round play against Finland on Thursday, while France will look to rebound against Denmark.
