Capitals' Tom Wilson Reflects On Making Team Canada, Becoming An Olympian: 'The Highest Honor... So Excited Just To Put On The Logo'
The Capitals alternate captain will head to the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina come February, along with teammate Logan Thompson.
WASHINGTON — The final day of 2025 couldn’t have gone any better for Tom Wilson.
Surrounded by family, holding his son, Teddy, the Washington Capitals alternate captain got a phone call before leaving for the rink. It was Team Canada, letting him know that he’d done enough to make the Olympic team.
“That’s the highest honor you can receive as a hockey player, is to be called by your country to play in the Olympics. It’s a dream come true,” Wilson said. “It sounds cliché, but you want to win the Stanley Cup and you want to win a gold medal as a Canadian kid growing up. I feel very lucky, the list of thank yous is long and it’s been a really fun journey so far. I feel very privileged, very lucky and there was lots of emotions…it was special to get that news.”
After that, he headed downtown to face the rival New York Rangers in a matinee showdown, one D.C. really needed to win to gain some more ground in the tight Eastern Conference.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline from finding out he’d accomplished a lifelong dream. Or perhaps it was an eagerness to assure Canada, “Yeah, you picked the right guy.” But once the puck dropped, Wilson did what he did best to lead the Capitals to a dominant win: be himself.
Wilson struck twice and added an assist, and he also dropped the gloves and delivered a game-changing hit on Noah Laba, for his third career Gordie Howe hat trick en route to a 6-3 victory.
“Imagine going through that, you just get told you got all these texts, phone calls, your wife surprises you, the emotions he must be going through, and then to just go and turn it on is impressive,” coach Spencer Carbery said of Wilson.
Wilson’s 21 goals and 40 points rank first on the Capitals, as do his 59 penalty minutes and 105 hits. This season, he moved from 12th to sixth on the franchise’s all-time goals list, and he now has 200 career goals to his name.
“I take a lot of pride in this team, and my focus all year has been here and it’s going to continue to be here until we get on that plane,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t have done it without all these guys. It’s a team game, and I feel lucky to be one of the guys to get to go and play over there.”
While his strong start to this season following last year’s 30-goal campaign helped Canada make up its mind, he was very much already on his way to playing on the international stage because of what he brings beyond the scoresheet.
Wilson, wearing the “A” full-time now for D.C., is the heartbeat of the Capitals locker room. His teammates will be the first to say that it’s his attitude and play that drive the team, and he’s almost always the one to set the tone.
“Incredible. He’s kind of our bull, he’s our leader… we all love Tom in here,” Charlie Lindgren said. “He’s such a great guy, such a great leader. Obviously with (Logan Thompson) too, it’s a pretty special time before the game today being able to shower those guys with love and just appreciate what those guys do.”
“Tom deserved to be there this year. I speak for everyone in that room that everyone would be really disappointed Tom wasn’t there,” Thompson added.
As he looks ahead to playing in the Olympics, news that’s still sinking in for the 31-year-old, he’s ready to not only prove Canada right, but to also play the right way.
“I’m so excited to just put on the logo and come together as a group and play in the Winter Olympics and try and make our country proud and just take all that in,” Wilson said. “There’s so many amazing athletes that have put their entire life into what they do and it’s going to be so cool to see them doing that as well. It’s going to be such a special group of guys. To put that jersey on, I’m looking forward to taking that in with Thommer and it’s going to be special memories for our whole life.”