Wilson says making Canada Olympic roster 'would mean the world'

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Tom Wilson says he won't be thinking about who might be watching from the press box when the Washington Capitals host the St. Louis Blues at Capital One Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, MNMT, truTV, TNT).

Of course, Wilson is aware that Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is also Canada's GM for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and will have a significant say whether Wilson is selected for its roster. The 31-year-old right wing's focus, though, is on trying to help the Capitals (6-5-1) end a four-game skid (0-3-1).

"I think my mentality is to take care of what's in front of me with this team, the Caps, and the rest will kind of take care of itself," Wilson told NHL.com on Tuesday. "There's no reason to think about that stuff too much because you don't really hear anything. You just put your head down and work and try and take care of your business. My focus is to help this team win and if we're winning and I'm playing well, then the team is doing well and that's the most important thing."

Wilson understands the depth of competition he faces to be one of the 25 players selected to represent Canada in the Olympics. That would only add to the honor for the Toronto native if he's lucky enough to be picked.

"It would mean the world," he said. "It's probably the most special thing you can tell a Canadian kid. Team Canada was always seen as the hardest team in the world to make in any sport. It's like the All Blacks (national team) of New Zealand in rugby. Just being in the conversation is awesome.

"Like I said, I'll put my head down and work and play the best that I can and see what happens."

Explore NHL.com's Coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

On a team that is filled with NHL star forwards such as Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wilson would fill a depth role. A power forward with a coveted mix of size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds), skill and toughness, Wilson has experience with that. He worked his way up from playing on the fourth line when he broke into the NHL with Washington in 2014 to being a top-line forward who plays in every situation now: 5-on-5, power play, penalty kill, 4-on-4, 3-on-3.

After setting NHL career-highs in goals (33), assists (32) and points (65) in 81 games last season, Wilson has been, arguably, Washington's best skater this season. While some of the Capitals other players have gotten off to slow starts, Wilson leads them in goals (six) and points (13), and leads their forwards in averaging 19:35 in ice time through their first 12 games this season.

"I think he's been one of the guys that's been playing at a high level and production-wise," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "'Willie' seems to be, at least the last two years, a very hot start player. I think last year he had a bunch of goals early in the season, started really hot. Again, this year from a production standpoint, but also I think the other areas of his game have been pretty sharp too."

Maybe it was a coincidence that Wilson scored the Capitals' lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday with Armstrong in attendance on an Olympic scouting mission along with Canada assistant GMs Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins). He also had three points (one goal, two assists), including the tying goal in the third period and an assist on Jakob Chychrun's overtime goal in a 3-2 victory against the Lightning, coached by Canada coach Jon Cooper, on Oct. 14.

Not that Wilson was thinking about that.

"Over the years, you guys always ask me about goal setting and how many goals I want to score and how many points I want to have, and for me, I don't focus on that," he said. "It's just if I can do whatever I can to help this team win and I play to the best of my ability, that's stuff is going to come. So, I just really want to focus on playing well every game."

Wilson lists winning gold medals with Team Ontario at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and with Canada at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament among his favorite Hockey Canada experiences. He also played in the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge, held in Yaroslavl, Russia, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, as part of a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series.

Wilson got a taste of what the competitive atmosphere will be like on the Olympic team when he attended Canada's orientation camp in Calgary from Aug. 26-28. He'd been in large gatherings of top players before at the NHL All-Star Game in 2022 and 2024, but there was a more serious tone in Calgary.

"The magnitude of what's at stake creates an atmosphere and an energy that's kind of unlike anything else," Wilson said. "Everyone's there for one reason and it's to get to the top of the mountain. The all-star game is a little more casual, a little more fun, I guess. This is all business and Hockey Canada from whenever I've been a part of it, it's tight knit, it's extremely focused, it's extremely detailed. It's the program of excellence for a reason.

"You're demanded to be the best you can be. It was just cool to be back in that environment around some of the best players."