Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson accepted his Washingtonian of the Year honor presented by Washingtonian magazine in an event hosted at the Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Wednesday evening affair featured a slew of well-dressed attendees including Tom in his charcoal suit and…nose brace.
The big-rig winger may clean up with the best of them in the NHL, but there’s no amount of handsome that can hide a high-stick directly to the face.
Wilson got up on stage, black-eyes and all, and delivered a short speech accepting the honor and also giving props to an area doctor.
Don’t worry, @tom_wilso’s nose is okay! Just an occupational hazard 🏒🥅
Sound on 🔈 pic.twitter.com/tNMYiMiPQd
— Washingtonian 🌸 (@washingtonian) January 10, 2024
“Shoutout to Dr. Mike Reilly at Georgetown for straightening out my nose just in time a couple days ago,” Wilson said, garnering laughs from the crowd.
Wilson had his nose broken by Los Angeles Kings forward Alex Laferriere’s inadvertent high stick in the Capitals victory over LA this past weekend. The 29-year-old bruiser missed the team’s practice on Tuesday but did skate on Wednesday wearing a full bubble shield facemask.
The Capitals’ likely future captain was announced to be receiving the 2023 honor from Washingtonian magazine back in early December. The magazine’s online excerpt cited Wilson’s work with his 43’s Friends charity, Wolf Trap Animal Rescue, area hospitals, and the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.
They also made explicit note of donations he has made to organizations such as DC Central Kitchen, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (where he got his nose straightened), and the Greater Washington Urban League.
2023 honoree @tom_wilso is in the house! We’re here celebrating all of our Washingtonians of the Year 🏆 pic.twitter.com/d1qzaiCSy9
— Washingtonian 🌸 (@washingtonian) January 10, 2024
“Since I’ve been in DC, this city has meant so much to me,” Wilson said at the event. “I always try to show up and give back to the community whenever I can. All the special people that have helped me along the way and supported me is kinda what it’s all about today.”
2023 was a big year for Wilson. In August, Wilson chose to bypass free agency and sign a seven-year extension that will likely keep him in DC through the rest of his career. Then, just last month Wilson’s wife Taylor announced the news that the couple are expecting their first baby.
A simple flesh wound wasn’t going to stop him from showing up for DC again on Wednesday. The Capitals expect Wilson, always the prototypical hockey player, to already be back in their lineup against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
“I’ve been part of this community since I was 19, and I’ve kind of grown up here,” Wilson told the Washingtonian. “I take huge pride in living in this city and being a part of this community.”
While the visual of a very large man with a braced face, in a suit, giving a speech in front of CEOs, news anchors, founders, and other honorees may be a bizarre sight to some and a bizarre sentence to write, Wilson makes it look all too casual.
Congrats, Tom! Truly, truly very well deserved.
Screenshot via @washingtonian/X
