Crosby sticks up for Comtois and offers advice to Team Canada captain

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby has got Team Canada captain Maxime Comtois' back. 

The superstar player needed to offer young Comtois some advice in wake of cyberbullies attacking the young forward after Wednesday's quarter-final loss to Finland at the World Juniors.

Comtois was hit with criticism after failing to score on a penalty shot in overtime during the loss. His camp called the social media response "shameful and incomprehensible" in a statement on Thursday.

"It is shameful and incomprehensible that a few cowards who can hide behind social media could make such vicious attacks on these young men's character after they have battled their hearts out for their country," the statement reads.

"I feel bad," Crosby said Friday, as reported by TSN. "That's immediately what I thought of 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 offered some great advice to Comtois, and we hope his words of wisdom can reach the young forward and help him move forward. 

“My advice to him would be just to ignore it. He’s a great player and he’s going to have a great career and that’s not going to define who he is – that penalty shot. The real fans and the people that are behind you, I think everybody is there to support him. Anything can happen in hockey and in a quarter-final game like that. You see the stick break – it’s one of those things.

“It’s easy to be a good fan when you’re winning, but it’s a little tougher when you lose and I think everyone should keep that in mind.”

Wednesday's loss to Finland represented the first time Canada failed to reach the medal round at the tournament on home soil, though it was their second quarter-final elimination in four years.

Crosby played for Canada at the 2004 and 2005 World Junior tournaments, winning silver as a 17-year-old and then gold the next year. He knows what he's talking about and we hope that Comtois can learn from the Penguins' captain and move forward in his career, which will be a great one, no doubt.