Capitals’ right winger Tom Wilson is heading to Toronto’s All-Star Game for the second time in his career, this time returning to his hometown.
Wilson was born and raised in Toronto, and played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League, which kept him near home before moving on to play for Washington.
Wilson says that he will have family and friends in the stands cheering for him, including Toronto natives that helped shape his career. But there’s a limit to how many will be able to attend.
“Tickets are pretty expensive, so we will take care of immediate family and friends, and a couple buddies,” Wilson said to Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken. “There are a lot of people that had an impact on my career growing up. It’ll be cool to be back there with them.”
To sit in the 100’s section at the All-Star game, tickets sat at roughly $1,000, with front row seats selling for over $2,000. Players have an allotment of tickets to hand out to their loved ones, and Wilson has a lot of people with whom he wants to share the weekend.
Wilson made quite the mark during his first All-Star appearance, scoring 13 seconds into the game. A highlight of the evening for Wilson was finishing third in the Hardest Shot competition while being booed by the Vegas crowd on every attempt. Wilson was the only forward to place in the top three Since its start in 1990, the hardest shot has only been won by three forwards, one of those being Alex Ovechkin.
“In Vegas a had a lot of fun with the Hardest Shot [competition], you just grip it, rip it, step in to it,” Wilson said. “I was lucky to break 100, I was happy with that. It’ll be exciting to see the best players in the world going toe-to-toe. Maybe we will place some side wagers, have some fun with the guys.”
Wilson’s hardest shot landed at 101.3 in 2022, losing to Victor Hedman (103.2) and Adam Pelech (102.2). While the winger may not take home the hardest shot trophy, maybe the league will add a category in best interview rhymes, an award he would be sure to win. I’m not betting against Wilson this year.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Toronto with family and friends,” Wilson said. “I think everyone’s pretty excited for it.”
Hopefully the game taking place in Toronto will eliminate the threat of crowd booing. Though I’m dubious.
