Tom Wilson was a surprise inclusion on Team Canada’s top line to start the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 31-year-old winger began the tournament riding shotgun next to superstar center Connor McDavid, with 19-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini completing the trio.
While Wilson played the entirety of the team’s first game on the line, head coach Jon Cooper made a change in Canada’s 5-1 win over Switzerland on Friday. Instead of having Nathan MacKinnon centering his own line as he was doing previously, Cooper slotted the high-scoring pivot in the spot Wilson once occupied.
“Your job as a coach is to put the team in the best situation to succeed,” Cooper explained to TSN postgame. “Take away the fact that they’re all phenomenal players, number-one picks, many times it doesn’t work. There has to be chemistry between the group, and those are three guys that need the puck, and there’s only one puck out there.
“I have to admit, there was a lot of unselfishness between those guys, and that’s what you want to see. My point, though, with those guys, is as electrifying as they can be with the puck, it’s how they play without. I thought, for the most part, they did a great job. When the game was still in the balance, those guys were a big reason the tide turned, so good for them.”
After the move, which happened during the game’s second period, both Celebrini and MacKinnon picked up goals against the Swiss. All three players on the line expressed how special it was to be playing with each other after the team’s big win.
“Big fan of [MacKinnon’s], watch a lot of Colorado games with some special players there,” McDavid told The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. “I have an understanding of where Nate likes to go and likes to be. We play the game similarly, too, so I think we have a good understanding of where we might want the puck.”
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t cool,” MacKinnon told TSN’s Mark Masters. “I love the game. I’m inspired by Connor. I think he’s the best & he pushes me to be even better. To play on a line with him is a blessing.”
“Yeah, it’s fun to play with those two guys,” Celebrini added. “You just need to watch them to know what I’m talking about. They’re just two special players, and it was fun to play with them.”
While Wilson was on the line, the Canadians were excelling, and the Washington Capitals alternate captain picked up his first career Olympic point on a Thomas Harley goal in the first frame. After the switch, Wilson ended up playing on a newly formed line with Brandon Hagel and Nick Suzuki.
The move to swap MacKinnon and Wilson while the line was performing well even surprised the Colorado Avalanche superstar. MacKinnon started the game between Hagel and Suzuki on the team’s de facto second line.
“I thought with Willy, they were playing great; they scored a goal,” MacKinnon said. “Not really sure why, but I’m ready to play wherever. I’ve played right wing lots in my career. I understand the position, and obviously playing with the best player in the world and maybe the second best player in the world in Macklin, it was a lot of fun.”
Wilson finished the game as one of Canada’s most sparingly used players, seeing just 9:43 of total ice time. Only Bo Horvat (9:26) and Seth Jarvis (9:19), who started the game lined up on the fourth line and as the team’s 13th forward, respectively, played less than Wilson.
Through two games, Wilson is averaging 12:54 of ice time and has recorded one assist and two shots on goal.
Whether Cooper sticks with the ultra-loaded top line for the rest of the tournament remains to be seen. The Canadians wrap up Group A play against France on Sunday morning.