Getting To Know: Tom Wilson

The young Washington Capitals right winger talks about his life growing up at and away from the rink, including the first stars he met, his inspirations, his greatest moments in the game and much more.

Status: Washington Capitals right winger

HT: 6-4 WT: 210

DOB: March 29, 1994 In: Toronto, Ontario

First Hockey Memory: "Backyard rink in Toronto. My dad would build one ever since I was two years old. I had a brother (Peter) that was five years older than me. So I'd go back with him and try to keep up."

Hockey Inspirations: "In Toronto, you're not really short for inspiration. Everywhere you look it's hockey. Growing up, it's pretty cool having everyone support you and follow you and fuel your love for the game."

Last Book Read: "I'm reading Divergent (by Veronica Roth) right now. I think the movie is coming out. I just started it. We'll see how it goes."

Current Car: "Jeep SRT."

First Famous Hockey Player You Met Or Encountered: "There's so many kids that I played with. Tom Fitzgerald was around a lot. His son Ryan played against a rival team of mine, probably five or six years old. Shayne Corson and Steve Thomas, all the guys that are in Toronto and have kids my age. It's fun seeing them around the rink."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Either my first NHL game or being drafted. It wasn't long ago, but it was still a lot of fun."

Most Painful Moment: "Last year, getting cut from world juniors was pretty tough. It was grounding and it made me work a lot harder this year."

Most Memorable Goal: "My first NHL goal this year was pretty cool, from Ovechkin. That was a dream come true for sure."

Funniest Player(s) Encountered: "There's a few. Obviously (Paul) Bissonnette in Phoenix is pretty funny. He asked me to go. He was pretty good about it. I mean, there's a lot of guys like that who are good guys, funny guys."

Fiercest Players Encountered: "There's a lot. (Zac) Rinaldo in Philly is pretty serious. He's always running around. You always get a good, compete level out of him, for sure."

Why Do You Love Playing Hockey: "It's the best sport in the world. I grew up around it. Grew up playing it since I was two years old. It's what I know."

Strangest Game: "At Madison Square Garden last year I lost a skate blade, that was pretty weird. I think it was my second NHL game, in the playoffs."

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Baseball, lacrosse are all fun to play. Football. I don't really have a major second sport, but I like playing other sports as well."

Funny Hockey Memory: "Every day. There's always something going on every day. There's guys crackin' jokes. It's just great coming to the locker room."

Getting To Know appears every week on thn.com. Mark 'Scoop' Malinowski's second book "Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew" is available on www.amazon.com. Malinowski is the creator of two websites: www.thebiofile.com and www.tennis-prose.com.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.