Tom Wilson Was Trending, Back To The Future!

During Sunday night's Washington Capitals playoff game, rookie Tom Wilson lost a skate creating one of the funnier scenes of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs as he struggled to get to the bench on one leg (cool GIF here).  The play caused "Tom Wilson" to start trending locally on Twitter.

So why were some people confused about this?

Tom Wilson's Skate Blade Falls Off, His Comical Journey To The Bench

During the Caps vs Rangers game 6 at Madison Square Garden, Caps rookie Tom Wilson, playing in just his second career NHL game, checked a Rangers player into the boards behind the Ranger's  goal and the blade of his skate broke off.

Wilson was trapped far away from his bench with no way to skate back...here is Wilson bumbling and stumbling, trying to make his way to the freedom of his bench.  It's all good when you don't get hurt!  Check it out!

Future? Check!

After last Thursday's signing of rookie Tom Wilson, Washington now has both of it's first round picks under contract.  The Capitals can now focus on the present, knowing that the future is on the right track.

Both the 11th pick Filip Forsberg and the 16th pick Tom Wilson are now signed to 3 year entry-level contracts worth $832,000.

After watching them both in training camp, it appears that Forsberg is closer to NHL form.  He is still young and fairly small, but with another year to work on his skills he should develop quickly.  Fellow Swede Nick Backstrom made the jump straight to the NHL and after Filip's contract in Europe is over, he may do the same.

Wilson on the other hand looked a little rougher around the edges in rookie camp.  From a physical standpoint he is ready to go.  The guy is a beast of a man.  6'4" around 200 pounds and a big strong hockey player.  However, he will need to work on his offensive skills if he wants to get on the ice at the wing for the Caps.

The Capitals are hoping that both these players will be around in a few years to make significant impacts on the ice.  Until then, the team knows that they will at least not have to worry about any holdouts, and both guys can focus on playing hockey.

Caps Development Camp: A Week Of Autographs

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We spent the entire week at Kettler Iceplex Covering Caps Development Camp.  This is our final entry from the week of hockey.

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Stewart arrived at the Ballston Mall at 7:00am.  He wasn't going to take a chance with any parking issues.  He wasn't going to try to fight the crowd.  He was going to get Mike Ribeiro's autograph.

The determined Caps fan staked out his territory soon after his arrival and nabbed the first position in line.  It didn't matter that nobody else was there.  It didn't matter that he would have to wait almost 3 whole hours.  Stewart would possess Mike Ribeiro's signature, and nobody would stop him.

(Center) New Caps Center Mike Ribeiro Signing Autographs - (Left) The Line At 9am - (Right) Stewart The Super-Fan

From morning practice sessions on Monday to afternoon scrimmages on Thursday to the Fanfest on Saturday, fans were autograph hungry.  Caps Development Camp was supposed to be a time for the players to learn about NHL-Style hockey but these young prospects learned something else; Caps fans are obsessed with autographs.

Filip Forsberg & Tom Wilson Chatting With Caps Fans

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We will be live at Kettler each day at some point for Development Camp.  So follow us on Twitter @Dru90 @Camcoco10 and @TheDugsSports for live-tweets and check back all week for coverage.

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After camp on Wednesday afternoon some of the players came out to sign autographs and talk to the fans.  Those guys included the Caps 11th pick in the first round, Filip Forsberg from Sweden and the 16th pick Tom Wilson out of the OHL.

Here is Forsberg chatting it up with the crowd:

More photos after the jump

D-Camp Day 2: Stand-Out Players

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We will be live at Kettler each day at some point for Development Camp.  So follow us on Twitter @Dru90 @Camcoco10 and @TheDugsSports for live-tweets and check back all week for coverage.

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The second scrimmage at Washington Capitals Development Camp took place on Tuesday afternoon at Kettler Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia with new coach Adam Oates looking on.  The intensity level during this scrimmage was much higher than Monday's iteration and the crowd was larger and louder as well.

One of the fan favorites at camp is Tom Wilson, the first round draft pick out of the OHL.  Wilson towers over most of the other players on the ice and he has provided some of the biggest hits of the camp so far.  At one point in the scrimmage, Wilson was tangled up with another participant and he took his opponent down UFC-style, one step away from throwing the KO punch.  However, during Tuesday's scrimmage Wilson was on the receiving end of a few big shots as well, one such shot laying him out on the ice. (Read about Tom Wilson's first day of camp)

Wilson, who lacked speed when competing in the earlier day's speed drills, can get the puck in good position with his strength, but needs to vastly improve his shooting and passing.

The other player that fans have been extra excited about is the Caps 11th pick Filip Forsberg out of Sweden.  Forsberg clearly needs to add some size to his frame, but he is only 17 years old and was outplaying many of the older guys at camp.  On Tuesday in the course of only a few minutes of ice time, Filip missed 2 "lay-ups", one with a completely empty net.  Forsberg could have easily had 2 goals and been the highlight of the scrimmage.

Andreas Martinsen, a free agent out of Norway, is another big player in the mold of Tom Wilson.  His skill is impressive considering his size, and he seems to have a nose for the puck on the offensive end.  Martinsen did fall down during suicide drills earlier in the day.

One of the quickest and niftiest players that seemed to be able to get off a good number of shots on goal despite his 5'8" size was T.J. Syder.  Syder was a free agent that signed with the Bears in March, so fans will get a chance to watch him up in Hershey this season.

David Vallorani, a free agent that played 4 seasons at UMASS-Lowell, scored an impressive long range goal and put another great attempt on net later in the scrimmage.

Stanislav Galiev looked like one of the most NHL players on the ice in terms of his size and skills, and he should get a chance to put in a lot of minutes in Hershey this season.

The Caps resume D-Camp on Wednesday morning, with no scrimmage scheduled for the day.

D-Camp Day 1: Tom Wilson, New Beast Mode

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We will be live at Kettler each day at some point for Development Camp.  So follow us on Twitter @Dru90 @Camcoco10 and @TheDugsSports for live-tweets and check back all week for coverage.

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The Washington D.C. area already has a Beast in the Washington Nationals' Michael Morse.  Well Morse may have some competition in town in a year or so with Beast Mode V2, the Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson.

Not many Caps fans knew much about Tom Wilson before he was drafted out of the Ontario Hockey League.  For most, the first look at Wilson was watching an enormous draftee tower over his accomplices on stage while announcer commentary compared him to an NFL or NBA player.

Those hundred or so fans who came out to Kettler Iceplex on Monday for the Washington Capitals first day of Development Camp now know something else.  Tom Wilson is a beast.

Wilson stood out among the 20+ other participants in Monday's intersquad scrimmage and anytime there was a big hit, the number 43 was close by.  With his large stature and unique wide open mouth look that he plays with, Wilson impressed the crowd that watched from the bleachers.

Tom Wilson, Built Like An NFL Player

The Capitals weren't finished in the first round with Filip Forsberg.  They also had a pick just 5 slots later, and they drafted some white dude named Tom Wilson, a winger from the OHL.  His parents were big Castaway fans, naming him after Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball.

According to the announcers, he is a real MANG!

"He looks like a 25 year old man"


"Built like an NFL player"


"That's like an NBA player!"


"Big, Strong, Physical, Hard-working"

Well then.  Can he maybe play for the Wizards and the Redskins too.  Because those teams also need some guys who are built like NFL players and who are "like" NBA players.  Half the guys on the Wiz I would describe as "like" D-League players.

Can you believe I watched the NHL Draft?  (at least some of it).  That is something I didn't think I would ever do, and can't believe that I just did...