For years, should you had been only a informal NHL follower you might have solely recognized of Tom Wilson due to his controversial reputation as an enforcer on the ice.
Give him some respect, although. Now, that is multiple-time All-Star Tom Wilson to you.
Through the 2022-23 season, Wilson was named an All-Star alternative for teammate Alex Ovechkin. This time round, he is Washington’s unique consultant as the primary spherical of picks, one participant per crew, had been introduced on Thursday evening. It is a well-deserved honor.
With age lastly catching as much as Ovechkin, in addition to fellow “outdated guard” members Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson, the Capitals’ youth motion has accomplished its takeover of the crew in 2023-24. Ovechkin nonetheless leads the Caps in total points, however solely barely over Dylan Strome, who’s the crew’s main goal-scorer with 13 tallies.
Wilson, in the meantime, is tied for the second-most objectives on the crew with 11, and is fourth in factors with 19 in 36 video games. Nevertheless, as everybody in D.C. is aware of, Wilson’s full impression goes effectively past the scoring sheet, as he is the glue that holds the Capitals collectively and has been for a few years.
His bodily type of hockey has gotten him some sizzling water up to now, however he is cleaned up the soiled performs whereas nonetheless being an intimidating presence. He is presently seventh in the NHL in hits, and he and Edmonton’s Evander Kane are the one gamers within the league with at the least 100 hits and double-digit objectives in 2023-24.
Wilson additionally ranks second on the Caps in photographs on objective, solely behind Ovechkin, and is answerable for the crew’s solely hat trick up to now this season, towards Anaheim on Nov. 30. Not dangerous for a participant who continues to be considered by opposing followers as “only a goon.”
Tom Wilson has blossomed into an elite two-way participant within the NHL, and his choice as Washington’s lone All-Star within the preliminary reveal makes it official: he’s the perfect participant on the Capitals proper now.
