Tom Wilson made a childhood dream come true when he earned a nod to Canada’s Olympic hockey team. Since then, not only has Tom played in every game of the tournament for the red, black, and white, but he’s also been heavily featured, skating on the top line with superstar Connor McDavid and 19-year-old young star Macklin Celebrini.
The 29-year-old McDavid is currently the best player in the world. Coming into the Olympics, he leads the NHL in points (96) and has the second-most goals (34). During his 11 years in the NHL, he has won the Art Ross Trophy five different times as the NHL’s leading scorer and has collected three Hart Trophies as league MVP. The Edmonton Oilers’ captain has also led his club to two consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances.
“Playing with Connor (McDavid) has been a highlight of my career, obviously,” Wilson said on Tuesday after practice per TSN. “He’s such a great guy, such a quiet leader. I can learn so much from him… When we’re on the ice together, (I) just try and create as much space for them as I can.
“My mentality is I’m not going to change,” Wilson added. “I’m at this point in my career. You know, I depend on my work ethic. If I’m playing fast and physical, that’s when I’m at my best. If I get the puck to those guys, the rest will take care of itself. So, I’m not thinking about changing too much. Those guys are so good that they’ll bring out the best of me. I mean, Connor, Macklin, two of the best players in the world. I just have to focus on executing my game, and it’ll be good. It’s been a very cool experience playing with those guys, and they’re having a heck of a tournament, obviously, so it’s been fun to watch.”
McDavid leads the Olympic tournament with 9 points (2g, 7a) in three games, while Celebrini has six (4g, 2a), ranking him fourth. Not only have those two players gone off, but Wilson is a point-per-game player as well, notching his first career Olympic goal and recording three points (1g, 2a) in three games.
What Wilson is learning most from the experience is what makes some of the world’s top players so special.
“It’s been so fun just to see that caliber of superstar player, the best in the world,” Wilson said. “For me, just to take that all in and see how quickly they make decisions, how good they are.
“You realize those guys like Nate (MacKinnon) and Connor, they bring it every single day,” he added. “They’re the hardest-working guys. Sid’s (Sidney Crosby‘s) right there. They set the tone. And a day like today, they come out, Connor and Sid are the hardest-working guys executing at the highest level on the ice in practice. So, I’m going to try and take it all in, learn as much as I can from them.”
While Wilson leads the Capitals in both goals (23) and points (49), the future Capitals captain sees there are still levels to his game that he may be able to unlock — of course, with even more dedication.
“Yeah, I mean, there was one play on the power play, I said, ‘Nate definitely would have made that pass to Sid, 10 out of 10 times,'” Wilson said. “So they were calling me Nate out there for a couple of minutes, but I think it was just in good fun.”
