Tom Wilson

Thomas Wilson (born March 29, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Wilson was born on March 29, 1994, in Toronto, Ontario, the largest city in Canada.

He began playing ice hockey at the age of two, when his father built an ice rink in their backyard for Wilson and his older brother Peter.

Wilson grew up playing alongside the sons of National Hockey League (NHL) players such as Tom Fitzgerald, Shayne Corson, and Steve Thomas, all of whom lived in Toronto and had children around Wilson's age.

Both of his parents were minor ice hockey coaches at North Toronto Memorial Arena: his father Keven coached competitive "rep" teams, while his mother Neville coached the more recreational house league.

When he began playing minor hockey, Wilson was a defenceman, but he switched to playing forward after one year so that he could be involved in more plays.

After three seasons playing AA minor hockey with North Toronto, Wilson joined the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), where he scored 44 goals and 105 points in his final minor season.

He also played in the GTHL for the Beresford Bisons, and split time between GTHL and his school team at Greenwood College School.

After spending time in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected Wilson in the second round of the 2010 OHL Draft.

The following year, he helped Canada to capture gold medals at both the World U-17 Hockey Challenge and the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

The Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected Wilson in the second round, 27th overall, of the 2010 OHL Priority Selection.

The team was interested in Wilson's size – at the time, he stood 6 ft and weighted 190 lbs – and in his physical style of play.

Drafted at the age of 16, Wilson continued his education at Plymouth High School in Michigan while playing with the Whalers.

Wilson took a physical, energetic approach to his junior ice hockey career at once, fighting to compete with his older teammates.

His rookie 2010–11 season was limited to only 28 games after Wilson suffered a wrist injury during an international exhibition game, keeping him out of play for the second half of the season.

In those 28 games, he scored three goals and three assists while racking up 71 penalty minutes.

Injuries continued to follow Wilson in the 2011–12 OHL season, including a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee and a fractured knuckle.

The latter injury occurred during the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, forcing Wilson to miss three weeks of games in February.

In 49 regular-season games for Plymouth, Wilson recorded 27 points and 141 penalty minutes.

During the J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs, however, he established himself as a strong forward for the team, stepping in for an injured Stefan Noesen.

In 13 playoff games, Wilson scored an additional seven goals and six assists before the Kitchener Rangers defeated Plymouth.

The Capitals selected him in the first round, 16th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Wilson began playing hockey at the age of two.

He spent one year of minor ice hockey as a defenceman before switching to forward, where he could be more involved in the game.

His first two seasons of junior ice hockey were limited by injuries to his wrist, knee, and knuckle, but he attracted attention during the 2012 J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs, scoring seven goals and six assists in 13 playoff games.

After the Whalers' 2012–13 season concluded, Wilson joined the Capitals for the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, playing in two games against the New York Rangers.

Going into the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Wilson the 15th-highest prospect among all available North American skaters.

On July 18, 2012, Wilson signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Capitals, with the expectation that he would continue to play with Plymouth for the following season.

Wilson began the 2012–13 season with Plymouth, scoring 36 points and recording 59 penalty minutes in his first 31 games with the team.

Wilson made the Capitals' roster for the 2013–14 NHL season, serving on the fourth line as an enforcer.

He missed the first part of his sophomore season with a broken fibula, but continued his aggressive, physical style of play into the remainder of the season, racking up a high level of penalty minutes.

As Wilson's career progressed, he began to receive criticism from other teams for hits and checks to his opponents' heads.

Wilson was first fined for checking in 2016, and received his first suspension during the 2017 preseason.

That year, the Washington Capitals selected him in the first round, 16th overall, of the draft.

His and the Capitals' Stanley Cup championship in 2018 was similarly overshadowed by a number of controversial hits during the playoffs, including one to Zach Aston-Reese that resulted in a three-game suspension.

The NHL elected to suspend Wilson for 20 games that October, following an illegal hit to the head of Oskar Sundqvist during a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues.

It was his fourth suspension in 105 games.

After serving the suspension, which was appealed and reduced to 14 games, Wilson began to retool his approach to the game, limiting his hits on his opponents and focusing instead on generating goals.

During the 2018–19 NHL season, he set career highs in goals and points.

In 2021, however, Wilson's performance as a power forward and enforcer came under fire from opposing coaches again after causing two serious injuries to other skaters: first Brandon Carlo of the Boston Bruins, followed by Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers.