Crosby, Iginla send Team Canada message before WBC quarters

Team Canada is getting some extra encouragement from its friends on the ice.

Ahead of Canada’s clash against the U.S. in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic on Friday (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+), Hockey Canada sent the team a gift and a good luck message.

The video message featured Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla and coach Jon Cooper wishing the players good luck.

“They voiced their congratulations, that’s No. 1, on advancing, but reinforcing the fact that the job’s not done yet,” Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt said about the video. “It was a great surprise. It was nice to see, and I think the boys got a kick out of it.”

Get a kick out of it they did, as the Canadian squad took the field donning Team Canada hockey sweaters that were handed out shortly before the pre-game workout. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill, in particular, seemed to have the most fun with it, cutting off his sleeves.

For captain Josh Naylor, the jersey is just another in the collection. Naylor has been wearing jerseys during batting practice all tournament, including a Wayne Gretzky sweater from the 1987 Canada Cup.

“I like representing great players, current and alumni players, so I brought a ton of jerseys I had back home,” Naylor said earlier in the tournament. “I don’t want to expose which ones I have just yet. This was one of them. I have, like, five more, all Canada hockey. I love this jersey. It’s really cool. I tried do three or four different eras, classic or (various) Canada tournaments.”