Alex Ovechkin thinks highly of Tom Wilson.
Wilson, you’ll recall, is the Washington Capitals’ first-round, 16th overall pick from the 2012 NHL Draft.
In a 5-4 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in exhibition play, Wilson scored a goal by planting himself in front of the net and a fight - he missed the Gordie Howe hat trick by an assist.
His play impressed Ovechkin, the Capitals super star.
“He’s tough, man….You can see he score the goal, make big hits, fight — that kind of piece what we missing,” as per a tweet from Katie Carrera of the The Washington Post.
At only 19 years of age, Wilson has the benefit of three NHL playoff games experience at this early stage of his career.
He’s an imposing target on the ice, standing six-foot-four-inches tall and 210 pounds. The size is nice, but that can’t be his only asset.
“It’s very difficult. Not trying to compare but a little bit like Eric Lindros, he was so much bigger than everybody in junior he was just cruising around out there,” Capitals head coach Adam Oates said during the summer.
“Tom has that capability, although everyone’s getting a little bigger. We want to make sure he’s on track and any little habit that can help will be great.”