The Washington Capitals had zero players chosen for the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. One omission felt especially egregious after Canada’s 3-1 loss to the United States on Saturday, where there were three fights in the first nine seconds.
Several leading hockey voices on social media, including John Buccigross and Paul Bissonnette, believed Tom Wilson should have been chosen to represent Canada due both to his gaudy offensive numbers this season and his physicality.
Unleash Tom Wilson @HockeyCanada. Send in the Nukes. #4Nations https://t.co/vXVIb7o3kF
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) February 18, 2025
Wednesday, at the Capitals’ first practice back from break, Wilson admitted he wished he was there, too, especially for Saturday’s fight-filled showdown between the two nations.
“I mean, I loved it,” Wilson said. “I think it was one of the best hockey games to watch in a long time. It was two countries that don’t like each other. It was hockey. It was great. It was a little bit of everything.
“I was sitting on my couch before the game, and it kind of hit me. I was like, ‘God, I want to be playing in that game.’ That rivalry, there’s nothing better. So I hope Canada can pull it out, but it’s gonna be a battle, and it’s always fun to see those two teams going at it.”
Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk had a distinct size advantage over both of their opponents, Brandon Hagel and Sam Bennett. They would not have had the same luxury against the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Wilson, who is one of the most feared fighters in the league.
The Tkachuk brothers are also vastly more experienced dropping their gloves than Hagel and Bennett. Coming into the game, Matthew (24) and Brady (36) had been in a combined 60 career NHL fights, over double the 26 career NHL fights that Hagel (5) and Bennett (21) have. Wilson had 26 fights in his first two NHL seasons alone and has been in 97 career fights.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery has had a front-row seat to the impact Wilson can have on games, coaching against Wilson as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs and now as his bench boss in DC. Carbery spoke about the USA-Canada game and how Wilson could have changed things in his first post-break radio spot with 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies.
“You must’ve been eavesdropping on my conversation that evening in the group of hockey dads,” Carbery said. “I thought in that setting, you know, it’s not just about the fighting and the fisticuffs. Willy, he just is such a presence, and he’s so hard to play against that what it does is – it’s not that he’s gonna beat the crap out anybody on the opposing team. It’s not about that.
“It’s about he has a presence about him that makes the opposition second guess some things that they’re gonna do on the ice from time to time. So, now all of a sudden, you’re like, ‘Ah, you know what? Maybe they do have the upper hand a little bit, and let’s just try to keep it to playing hockey,’ to where, now, you’ve got that upper hand.”
Outside of his ability to alter games physically, Wilson is also in the middle of a career-best offensive year. Through 55 games, he has scored 24 goals, leaving him on pace to notch 36 by the end of the season. The list of players on either the US or Canadian roster with more goals than Wilson is short, including just Sam Reinhart (31), Brayden Point (31), Kyle Connor (30), Jake Guentzel (27), and Hagel (26).
The Canadians have also felt the impact of snubbing Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, potentially due to his past differences with part of their coaching staff. Jordan Binnington has started all three of Canada’s games and posted a 2.60 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage.
