Washington Capitals Forward Tom Wilson Finding Consistency

Jan 14, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Vancouver Canucks goalie Ryan Miller (30) in the third period at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

After a less than ideal start to his NHL career, Tom Wilson is beginning to play the way him and many others expected following an impressive junior career.

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson is known around the league as a goon, a reckless player, and a pest that only serves to fight and hit people as hard as he can. All of this despite the fact that he has never even so much as been suspended or fined by the NHL for his actions. His reputation, however, can be attributed to the role he was forced into early in his career. Former head coach Adam Oates essentially designated Wilson the team’s enforcer, relegating him to the fourth line only to be called upon to throw hands.

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That is not what the Washington Capitals envisioned the now 21-year-old being when they drafted him 16th overall at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Though the pick was viewed as a stretch at the time, the gifted physical specimen that is Wilson, mixed with an impressive offensive showing in the OHL with the former Plymouth Whalers, gave the Capitals the thought that they may be acquiring a very special player. He drew early comparisons to now-Los Angeles Kings forward Milan Lucic. Through all of the promise, not once has Wilson complained about his role. He has always done what his team asked to the best of his ability.

Wilson played three seasons with the Plymouth Whalers, recording 6 and 27 points in his first two seasons, respectively. The CHL club’s playoff run during his second season would seem to kick start his rise up the draft boards. He totaled 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) in 13 playoff games in the 2011-12 CHL playoffs, something that caught former general manager George McPhee’s attention. The season after being drafted, Wilson put up 58 points in 48 regular season games, and then 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in 12 playoff games. It was a tremendous step forward for him. All of that progress, however, was seemingly erased when Adam Oates played Wilson in the manner that he did.

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But now, in his third full season with the Washington Capitals, Wilson is finally receiving the freedom to develop into the player he seemed he could turn into. Current head coach Barry Trotz, who has turned this unit into a well-oiled machine, has entrusted Wilson with third line minutes, including time on the penalty kill, that seemed like they may never come. Wilson is still within the grasp of the player he was – or rather, the player he was forced to be – while fighting (not literally, in this case) to become a disciplined power forward that frustrates and antagonizes the opponents to create chances for his team. He has shown flashes of each this year, but as the season has moved on, we have seen more of the latter.

Over the first 22 games of the 2015-16 NHL season, Tom Wilson contributed just five points – all assists. Oates had ruined him, and it might be too late, even at 21, to change that. But, something began clicking – slowly. Wilson scored in consecutive games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. He was then held off of the scoresheet for the next seven consecutive games. Were the goals just a blip on the radar?

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That leaves us with the past 13 completed games, a string of contests in which Wilson has started to really come into his own. Heading into Sunday’s affair with the New York Rangers, Wilson had compiled two goals and six assists over the preceding 13 games, something that he hadn’t done in his entire career. With 15 points in 43 games, he still has an extremely long way to go to live up to the expectations that came with his draft position and skill set. At the same time, he is already just two away from his career high of 17 points, set last season, so you can already infer that this season has already been a very positive step for Wilson’s career. At the very least, his run of 8 points in 13 games is a promising trend.

Wilson is always going to possess that physical side to him and will always be willing to stand up for his teammates. Just after being signed by the Washington Capitals after the draft, he made it clear that even at the junior level, he was somebody that wanted to get the energy going for his teammates. Tom Wilson will always be that player. It is just a matter of using that physicality for good, and not getting drawn into dumb penalties or useless fights. Currently, Wilson is very visibly a much bigger threat from an offensive and creative standpoint than he was at this time last season.

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2016 has come with a bit of an emergence for Tom Wilson. At his age, he has all of the time in the world ahead of him to continue his blossoming into the player the Washington Capitals knew he could be.

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