The Washington Capitals announced Tom Wilson as their 2025 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominee on Tuesday.
The award is given to the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Wilson has now been the Capitals’ nominee four times, previously getting the nod in 2024, 2023, and 2019.
“When I’m done playing as a Washington Capital, I hope people say, ‘He was out there in the community. He stood up for us. He had our back,’” Wilson said in Tuesday’s announcement. “That’s something that I would be very proud of one day if that was the narrative after my career was done.”
Wilson, who became a full-time alternate captain this fall, has taken on a growing role within the Capitals’ locker room in recent years and is widely expected to assume the captaincy when Alex Ovechkin hangs up his skates.
Now in his 12th season in Washington, Wilson’s leadership qualities extend to giving back off the ice. Wilson created the Forty Three’s Friends program in 2018, providing tickets and meet-and-greets to families from Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic and United Heroes League. He hosted a United Heroes League clinic for nearly 100 children in January, surprising children from military families with an afternoon of fun on the ice.
Alongside Nicklas Backstrom, Martin Fehervary, and Elliot in the Morning’s Elliot Segal, Wilson is a participant in the the So Kids Can initiative, pledging $50 for regular-season Capitals wins and $100 for playoff wins to youth-focused nonprofits.
Wilson is also a regular volunteer at Wolf Trap Animal Rescue, often convincing teammates to help out alongside him.
“Wolf Trap’s an awesome organization,” he told RMNB. “They put in a lot of time and hours to help dogs, so it’s just something that my wife and I are passionate about. We got our dog from there and that’s a happy spot in our life every day. So just being able to give back, see other people have that opportunity, it’s pretty cool. The dogs get a new life and the people that get the dogs, it brightens their life as well. So it’s a full-circle thing that’s fun to be a part of.”
The Capitals named him their inaugural Caps Care Community Award winner last spring for his efforts in the community, giving him a $10,000 donation to award to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the charity of his choice.
Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:
Capitals Announce Tom Wilson as Capitals Nominee for NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Trophy is awarded annually “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
ARLINGTON, VA – The Washington Capitals announced today forward Tom Wilson has been named the club’s 2024-25 nominee for the National Hockey League’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
The King Clancy Memorial trophy is awarded annually “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Wilson actively gives back to the community through two player programs and by participating in additional initiatives throughout the season.
In 2018, Wilson created Forty Three’s Friends, a program through which he provides tickets and a special postgame meet and greet to families affiliated with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic and United Heroes League. The program launched with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, focused on children who were waiting for their wishes to be granted. In 2019, he expanded Forty Three’s Friends to also include families selected by United Heroes League. In January, Wilson hosted a hockey clinic for more than 80 local children affiliated with United Heroes League at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, in addition to the Forty Three’s Friends experiences he hosted throughout the season.
Wilson and his rescue dog, Halle, participated in the Caps Canine Calendar photoshoot in October. Wilson continues his work as an ambassador and volunteer for Wolf Trap Animal Rescue, which specializes in the rescue of animals, dogs and puppies in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland.
Wilson is also a member of So Kids Can with teammates Nicklas Backstrom and Martin Fehervary and Elliot in the Morning’s Elliot Segal. Through So Kids Can, the players and Segal pledge $50 per Capitals win during the regular-season and $100 per win during the playoffs to a youth-focused nonprofit. Fans were also encouraged to donate at washcaps.com/sokidscan. This season’s campaign has raised $54,810 to date for Fight For Children, including nearly $40,000 raised through a So Kids Can Sweepstakes that kicked off the 2024-25 campaign Through the sweepstakes, Wilson met with the winner postgame.
So Kids Can also teamed up with Fight For Children, Good Sports and Flag Star Football in March for an equipment donation and youth flag football clinic. Through the So Kids Can Initiative, the So Kids Can members donated $7,126 to provide 247 pieces of sports equipment to Flag Star Football Foundation. The brand-new sports equipment, including footballs, flag belts, cones, athletic apparel and agility ladders, will support their after-school programming for 350 children. On March 8, the So Kids Can members made a visit to a Flag Star Football’s clinic at The Fields at RFK Campus in Northeast D.C., spending time playing flag football and running drills with local kids.
Ahead of the Legacy on Ice live figure skating tribute at Capital One Arena on March 2, Wilson met with families of victims of the Flight 5342 aviation tragedy. He then attended the event in support of the figure skating community, victims and their families and first responders who were involved in the Flight 5342 recovery efforts.
Last April, Wilson was named as the inaugural recipient of the Washington Capitals Caps Care Community Award in honor of his efforts in the community during the 2023-24 season. He received a $10,000 donation from Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation in honor of his efforts, which he donated to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. The Caps Care Community Award was established to recognize an individual Capitals player annually for his contributions to the community. A Caps Care Community Award recipient will be selected annually by an internal committee on the basis of several criteria, including but not limited to: support of causes personally close to the player, participation in team and league initiatives and involvement in programming that benefits the community across Washington, D.C., Virginia and/or Maryland.
