Tom Wilson is likely to be the next captain of the Capitals, and Alex Ovechkin has been teaching him what it means to be a leader so that he's ready when the time comes.
ARLINGTON, V.A. -- For Tom Wilson, having Alex Ovechkin in his corner has meant everything over the course of his career with the Washington Capitals.
Now, as Wilson steps into the spotlight as the next big face of the franchise -- a role he's arguably already taken on -- his captain is with him every step of the way.
Wilson revealed that Ovechkin has taken him under his wing over the course of his time in Washington, helping him evolve from a fourth-line winger and enforcer into a top-line power forward and one of the league's most difficult opponents. For the 29-year-old, it's made all the difference.
"I've had a pretty cool perspective coming into D.C. with Ovi and players like that, and to be able to be a part of a group like that is pretty special," Wilson said. "Then to be able to learn from him, watch him, help him in whatever way I can do his thing has been pretty cool. You can never take it for granted, playing with someone that great and doing what he's doing."
Wilson has primarily been on Ovechkin's opposite wing ever since Barry Trotz put the two together on a line with Evgeny Kuznetsov in 2018. Since then, Wilson has turned into a 50-point player and one of the team's most important forwards, given his role on offense, ability to kill penalties and of course, his physicality.
Being on Ovechkin's right side, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound forward has taken away quite a few lessons as he's watched the Russian hit milestone after milestone. However, their time off the ice has been just as important, as Wilson has been learning from Ovechkin on a leadership level.
"He's been amazing to me, an amazing leader. He's taken me under his wing. He's had lots of conversations about maybe four or five years down the road or whenever it is, what it means to be a leader," Wilson said. "He's been fairly vocal with me the last little while about that. Just speaks to his character and how much he cares about his teammates. I just try to soak it all in."
While Wilson didn't dive into the specifics of those exact conversations, he called them "very meaningful" to them and said Ovechkin has been a resource for him "since Day 1," which has made all the difference as he hits his prime.
"You can't get to where you are as an individual without all the support from your teammates... [I've had] a lot of great leaders to look up to. That starts with Ovi."
As for what lies ahead for Wilson, who signed a seven-year extension to close out the month of July, Ovechkin has also helped him become one of the most vocal leaders in the room. That's earned Wilson the "A" on his sweater when Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson are out of the mix.
With his next letter likely to be the "C" when Ovechkin hangs up the skates, Wilson says he's ready to cross that bridge whenever he comes to it, and he has No. 8 to thank for that as well.
"When you're a guy like him on a team or you're a leader, you're wearing a letter, there can be stuff that comes with that," Wilson explained. "We've had conversations about what that can entail. He's a very passionate guy, and he cares a lot about his team and about his teammates. I'm one of those teammates, and it's been nothing but a fun ride to be by his side. Just trying to learn everything I can, because he's a once-in-a-lifetime player."
Looking ahead, Ovechkin has three years remaining on his contract and sits 72 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals leader. Having looked up to the 37-year-old, Wilson is confident he can do it, and they're rooting for him to pass No. 99 before he finishes his career -- and of course, there's the goal of going for another Stanley Cup.
"I think everybody in that room wants him to have the utmost individual success going forward, and we all know what that means. We're going to keep pushing. i think a good team and a team that's winning games mean's he's scoring goals, and we're checking both those boxes at the same time," Wilson said.