To Keep an Eye On: Tom Wilson

[CaptainK]

Trotz saw him playing with Backstrom and OV before season started Today is his first game with them and he has 1G 1A in less than half a period..

Obviously need a bigger sample size and his PP time but put him on your watch list ;-)

[The Bottlenecker]

Fabian Brunnstrom had a hat trick in his first NHL game...where is he now? I think Wilson will ultimately play more games in the NHL than Brunnstrom, but Washington didn't get Wilson for his scoring ability, but for being a mean SOB. He will be a PIM monster who occasionally chips in with some offence.

[CaptainK]

Fabian Brunnstrom had a hat trick in his first NHL game...where is he now? I think Wilson will ultimately play more games in the NHL than Brunnstrom, but Washington didn't get Wilson for his scoring ability, but for being a mean SOB. He will be a PIM monster who occasionally chips in with some offence.

ok....?
point of the thread was just to keep an eye out on him and not pick him up right away. Trotz saying before the season started that he saw that line together already gives it more chances of staying together. Playing alongside OV and Back is fantasy gold, especially if your a PIM monster.

[Old_Smokie]

I agree with Bottlenecker, far too many of these sensational "Player A just lined up with Superstar A" sort of posts cropping up all over the place this year; not sure if it has been different in past years but I'm seeing it more this year. While it's great to bring such a thing to our attention I'm not so sure it does help as much as it does possibly push a GM looking for a quick answer to make a hasty move. But what he has done in one period does nothing to put him on any watch list. If that was the case Fehr and Brouwer should be on the watch list..... even more so given they more regularly slot in on that line and in the PP. Just my 2 cents.

[snipshow101]

Yea, I agree with most above. The wing position on that top line will likely be a revolving door, similar to Ana. Not worth making a hasty drop for a possible short-term boost

[Rockin the Red]

For the large majority of teams I agree that Wilson is probably not someone that should be picked up yet. However, depending on your league's size and settings he definitely could be a useful contributor to your team. I actually drafted him with one of my last picks, purely as a speculative play based off of Trotz's earlier comments and could stash him in a NA spot to start the season, since over 500 players are rostered at any given time in our league and speculative picks like Pearson, Daley, and B. Boyle were some of the only other worthwhile picks during the last 5 rounds of my draft. I do admit to being biased towards Wilson though since he's my favorite caps player and I'm probably one of the very few people that actually wear his jersey when attending caps games.

[tstinger]

I think you are right on the money. You never suggested anyone go drop a proven asset but if you have a spot at the end of your roster I think it's very much worth some consideration. He is a big kid, top 15 draft pick and they have frequently said this year they don't want to put him in the 4th line fighter role because they feel he is much more capable than that.

I'm watching closely.

[LakeSoup]

I agree with Bottlenecker, far too many of these sensational "Player A just lined up with Superstar A" sort of posts cropping up all over the place this year; not sure if it has been different in past years but I'm seeing it more this year. While it's great to bring such a thing to our attention I'm not so sure it does help as much as it does possibly push a GM looking for a quick answer to make a hasty move. But what he has done in one period does nothing to put him on any watch list. If that was the case Fehr and Brouwer should be on the watch list..... even more so given they more regularly slot in on that line and in the PP. Just my 2 cents.

Uhh to be fair Brouwer is a legitimate player to have. Consistently lots of SOG and a decent enough secondary points producer. Not in the same "what-if" category as someone like Fehr or Wilson.

[tstinger]

It was the 20-year-old’s first goal since March 13 and summoned glimpses of what Trotz envisioned this summer when he first assumed the job: a top line of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Wilson, with Wilson playing the spunky role of Boston’s Milan Lucic.

“That was my intention, but obviously the injury has stalled that,” Trotz said in late October. “My vision for him is to be a top-six forward with a bite. I think Tom Wilson for him to be an effective player, he’s got to have some bite in his game. Everybody knows that he can throw them when he has to, but he can also play too.

“There’s not that many guys who have that nice combination, the Milan Lucic type guys that get you 20 goals, 20-some goals and are hard to play against, can play the game the way anybody wants. If you want to get them into a real physical battle, a grind battle, he’s oaky with that. If you want to play a skill game, he’s okay with that too. When I look at Tom, he can go into that sort of category. I wouldn’t say he’s exactly like Lucic, but he can be in that category.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...cured-in-loss/

[rataylor22]

Fabian Brunnstrom had a hat trick in his first NHL game...where is he now? I think Wilson will ultimately play more games in the NHL than Brunnstrom, but Washington didn't get Wilson for his scoring ability, but for being a mean SOB. He will be a PIM monster who occasionally chips in with some offence.

I agree with Bottlenecker, far too many of these sensational "Player A just lined up with Superstar A" sort of posts cropping up all over the place this year; not sure if it has been different in past years but I'm seeing it more this year. While it's great to bring such a thing to our attention I'm not so sure it does help as much as it does possibly push a GM looking for a quick answer to make a hasty move. But what he has done in one period does nothing to put him on any watch list. If that was the case Fehr and Brouwer should be on the watch list..... even more so given they more regularly slot in on that line and in the PP. Just my 2 cents.

Umm. Sorry. But NHL teams don't waste a top-16 first round pick on "tough guys". Brunnstrom is a random, out of nowhere, useless comparison, given he was undrafted. Like where did that even come from? Not good.

[ultrawhiteness]

The bankable thing about Wilson is how well he skates for a big guy, and how he seems to skate in the right lines. He's a hitting machine, at the very least.

The sample size with decent minutes and good linemates is so small now... it's hard to say if the brains and skill is there to keep up with a top-6 role. And his junior stats certainly don't sparkle that way.

There have been glimmers that say there is a good player here. Although it's probably more likely he ends up being another Wayne Primeau.