Now think about what that requires.
"Great players, they do things other players can't do," said Wilson, who won the Norris Trophy himself when he had 85 points (39 goals, 46 assists) in 76 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1981-82.
"I view it as a quarterback. His receivers have to run certain routes. When you have an elite mind, you're going to throw a puck to an area that you expect somebody to be going to."
Karlsson had to learn how to hit his receivers, and his receivers had to learn to expect the puck at times when they might not have gotten it before.
When Brenden Dillon was first paired with Karlsson about 10 games into the season, he joked that his job was just to get the puck to him.
"He kind of joked back, saying, 'Hey, you're going to get the puck a lot more than you think,' " Dillon said. " 'I'm going to be finding you. Always have your stick on the ice.' …
"There always seems to be a lane open when he's got the puck."
Now consider that Karlsson had to learn the Sharks' structure, too.
"We have different breakout rules," coach Peter DeBoer said. "We have different rules in the neutral zone, how we want to play. We have different things in the offensive zone that we're trying to accomplish. … We've got different emphasis points than Ottawa has."
Karlsson will tell you he has felt good all season. DeBoer will tell you Karlsson's transition took 10 to 15 games. And Wilson will tell you Karlsson was playing a lot better than people thought.
But the Sharks weren't playing well as a team, breaking down defensively too often, not clicking offensively like they could.
* * * * *
The turnaround traces to Dec. 1, when the Sharks lost 6-2 in Karlsson's return to Ottawa. The next day, Wilson spoke to the team at the Bell Centre, and the Sharks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. Two days later, DeBoer announced his staff was shuffling responsibilities, with Steve Spott taking over the defense.
"It was like rock bottom," DeBoer said. "That's enough. They knew how we had to play in order to have success, and up until that point, we weren't prepared to fully invest in that type of game. And sometimes you have to hit a rock bottom in order to bounce off that and get in the right direction."
Now Karlsson has gotten through his return to Ottawa. He has learned his receivers' routes and how to use his skills within the Sharks' structure, and his teammates have learned his tendencies too.
Dillon has found he often has extra time and space because Karlsson will hold the puck with poise and patience, draw opponents to him, and then dish it off.
"What it usually comes down to in a fast game is making the reads before it happens," Karlsson said, "and I think that in that we found a way to figure out what to expect out of the other guy."
When you combine a player like Karlsson with talented teammates, points follow. It's both cause and effect. The Sharks have scored 3.55 goals per game, fifth in the NHL. They have scored 4.25 per game since Dec. 2, second in the NHL to the Tampa Bay Lightning (4.61).
One of the main reasons the Sharks acquired Karlsson was the power play. They have improved from 16th (20.6 percent) last season to seventh this season (24.6 percent). They're third since Dec. 2 (28.0 percent). Karlsson has 17 points on the power play, eight since Dec. 2.
From Dec. 7 through Jan. 8, Karlsson became the fifth defenseman in NHL history to record at least one assist in 14 consecutive personal games. Since Dec. 7, he is sixth in the NHL in scoring with 25 points (one goal, 24 assists) and first in assists. He's on pace for 67 assists, which would be an NHL career high.
