Last night the NHL annouced the first 32 players, one from each team, that will be heading to the annual NHL All Star Game. Representing the Washington Capitals will be Tom Wilson, who makes his return to Toronto.
The ASG roster consists of 28 skaters and four goaltenders and were selected by the NHL's Hockey Operations Department. Below are the first 32 players along with their number of ASG appearances, per NHL PR:
F Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks, 1st
F Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes, 4th
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, 4th
D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, 3rd
F Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames, 1st
F Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, 3rd
F Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, 1st
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, 5th
F Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets, 1st
G Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, 1st
F Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, 2nd
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, 7th
F Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, 1st
G Cam Talbot, Los Angeles Kings, 2nd
F Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, 3rd
F Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, 3rd
F Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, 2nd
F Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, 3rd
F Mahew Barzal, New York Islanders, 3rd
G Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, 2nd
F Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, 4th
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, 2nd
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 6th
F Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks, 2nd
F Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seattle Kraken, 1st
F Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, 1st
F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, 5th
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, 5th
D Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, 2nd
F Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, 2nd
F Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, 2nd
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, 4th
Alex Ovechkin usually leads the Capitals in goal scoring but not this season. Wilson is tied with Anthony Mantha for second on the Caps in goals. Dylan Strome leads but only by two.
When the Caps re-signed Tom Wilson in the beginning of August, it was an investment into their future. After missing the playoffs last season there was no telling what direction the team was going to be heading with the core getting older.
But part of the reason the Caps are not in a terrble position right now and are better than expected at the very least has been the play of Wilson. He is future team captain material and he has already stepped up as a leader.
It'll be cool to see Wilson in his hometown in Toronto where he discovered his NHL offensive potential during the first round of the 2017 playoffs.