Sidney Crosby wasn't about to get snubbed again.

The youngest captain in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup was chosen Wednesday for Canada's Olympic hockey team, four years after being left off the underachieving squad that finished a disappointing seventh in Turin, Italy.

Crosby, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was among the easiest picks for executive director Steve Yzerman, the longtime Red Wings captain whose choices have been debated and evaluated for months in hockey-obsessed Canada, which virtually shut down for the announcement.

"This is a special honor," Crosby said. "I'm pretty proud of it."

Among the top selections were goaltender Martin Brodeur, who recently set the NHL record with his 104th career shutout; defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger; forward Jarome Iginla, the star of Canada's 2002 gold-medal winning team; Joe Thornton, the NHL scoring leader; and Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, a pair of 24-year-old Anaheim Ducks teammates.

Niedermayer is the captain, with Pronger, Crosby and Iginla as alternate captains. Crosby, at age 22, wasn't the youngest chosen — Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty just turned 20, and Chicago forward Jonathan Toews is 21.

Joining Brodeur in goal will be 2006 holdover Roberto Luongo of Vancouver and Penguins Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury.

Also chosen at forward were Rick Nash of Columbus; Thornton's San Jose teammates Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley; Philadelphia's Mike Richards; Patrice Bergeron of Boston; Eric Staal of Carolina; and Brenden Morrow of Dallas. Bergeron was the only player chosen to the 23-man team who wasn't picked for the pre-Olympic camp in August.

The defensemen include Chicago teammates Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, Dan Boyle of San Jose and Nashville's Shea Weber.

There were surprises. Among those passed over were Washington's Mike Green, the NHL's leading scorer among defensemen; Calgary defensemen trio Jay Bouwmeester, Robyn Regehr and Dion Phaneuf; Tampa Bay forward Martin St. Louis; Ottawa forward Mike Fisher; Philadelphia forward Jeff Carter; and Pittsburgh forward Jordan Staal, Eric's brother.

Bouwmeester signed a $33 million, five-year contract only last summer and was seen as a lock for the team only a few weeks ago.

Richards has been slumping lately for the Flyers, but was chosen because he is an excellent penalty killer. He leads the NHL in short-handed goals since 2005.

Green apparently was not among the final players being weighed for the roster, possibly because he is considered to have defensive liabilities. However, Canada's power play converted only 13 percent of its chances in Turin, and Green's scoring ability might have proved to be an asset.

As the team was announced at a news conference during the world junior championships in Saskatoon, large banners of each player were unfurled on a podium behind Team Canada's leaders. The midday announcement was carried on 13 Canadian TV networks and cable channels.

Yzerman said he and other team executives didn't make up their minds about the final choice, which he wouldn't disclose, until the early morning hours Wednesday.

"We spent hours and hours debating," Yzerman said. "There were very good players left off. But we think this is a team that will make Canadians proud. ... We're very confident in the team we've put together."