The Washington Capitals have arrived safely in Milan Cortina for the Winter Olympics, as Tom Wilson, Logan Thompson and Martin Fehervary touched down in Italy and have joined their respective teams.
Wilson and Thompson got right to work, as Team Canada held its first practice on Sunday with NHLers officially in the village. Coach Jon Cooper has Wilson playing a key role.
The 31-year-old will kick off the tournament skating on the top line with Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini.
“Right to the penthouse with two amazing players,” Wilson told reporters in Milan, via Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas.
It’s a bold move, but also one that makes plenty of sense. Wilson leads Washington in scoring this season with 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points in 50 games. He’s quick and strong, a true power forward able to get to the dirty areas and put the puck home.
But, beyond the offense, his physical presence — he leads the Capitals with 132 hits this season — allows him to not only protect his linemates, but he can completely change the momentum in one game with a big hit.
That’s been seen on multiple occasions over the course of the last couple of seasons, most notably in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens and most recently against the Carolina Hurricanes en route to a 4-3 comeback victory.
Wilson also leads all Capitals forwards in average ice time per game (19:23 minutes), and is used to playing heavy minutes and a key role. He also regularly plays power play and penalty kill.
Ultimately, for those unfamiliar with Wilson’s game, the move may come as a bit of a shock, but it’s something that doesn’t surprise the Capitals. And going into the games, general manager Chris Patrick was hoping to see him get recognized for the role he plays.
“It’s great to see people finally appreciate what Caps fans have appreciated in him, the fact that he’s a top-line forward,” Patrick said, adding, “Brings it every single night. For a while, I just felt like all people want to do is talk about benign body hits that he threw in a game, so it’s good to see him finally getting the recognition for his complete game. I think Canada is going to love watching him play with the maple leaf ofn his chest. There could not be a prouder Canadian hockey player.”