Photo credit: OHL

After netting a hat trick against the London Knights in game 2 of the OHL Western Conference Finals, Tom Wilson has continued to bolster his status as an elite playoff performer.

Wilson, whose tremendous play in last year’s postseason secured him a spot in the draft’s first round, scored three more goals in the next two games. Both times Wilson’s goals helped to build Plymouth’s comeback efforts, but the Knights took the lead back and won. In both games, the final score was 6-4 London.

Wilson’s consecutive goals begin at 1:00 mark. Carrick’s tremendous backhand cross-ice assist is at 1:45.

In game 3, Wilson’s goals helped the Whalers to pull off a miraculous come back. The Whalers started third period down 3-0 (two of the Knights goals by potential first-rounder Bo Horvat). Wilson scored two consecutive goals in less than four minutes, allowing his team to get back in the game. Five minutes later, a big goal by Ducks’ prospect Rickard Rakell tied the game. Fast-forward one minute and Mitchell Heard gave the Whalers the lead off of amazing cross-ice feed by Carrick.

Then the Whalers’ emotion started working against them. Connor Carrick picked up a minor for cross-checking, and London’s Max Domi tied the game on the ensuing powerplay. 50 seconds later, Seth Griffith gave the Knights the lead. A frustrated Heard shoved one of the Knights in the back of the head, picking up a major for check to the head, burying his team’s hopes of tying the game. Wilson and Vince Trocheck later picked up misconducts for “Persisting” – trying to start a fight despite the linesmen keep the players apart. The Knights kept their cool and coasted to victory as Domi scored an empty-netter.

Wilson’s assist is at the beginning of the video. His goal – a deflection off Carrick’s shot – is at the 1:40 mark. Two more of Carrick’s assists are at 0:35 (notice Wilson screening the goalie) and 1:25 marks.

In game 4, the Whalers started off well, twice getting the lead in the first period and outshooting the opposition. The Knights managed to tie the game going into intermission and then took a two-goal lead by the halfway point. Late in the period, the Whalers tied the game (Wilson provided the equalizer), but the Knights scored early in the third.

Tom Wilson, who missed three games with a reported concussion, has 16 points in 11 games, placing him 7th in playoff points per game and tenth overall in points.

Game 5 may end the Whalers’ season. It will be played in London  at 7PM EST. The OHL has streaming available to watch.

Photo credit: Tom Wilson’s Instagram

There comes a time in a teenager’s life where the dream of becoming a star athlete dims and must be replaced. At the age of sixteen, that’s what happened to Toronto native Peter Wilson.

“I really fell in love with writing when I was in grade 11,” Wilson, who played hockey competitively as a kid, explained. “I had a really great literature teacher who took me under her wing and showed me some really cool books. I found writing to be really fun and therapeutic.”

In college, Wilson continued to explore literature and challenge himself, just like he did on the ice with hockey. When his passion shifted away from the ice, Wilson dropped gloves with a new opponent: the competitive field of writing.

Defenseless

I guess it’s a good read at the beach? (Photo credit: Peter Wilson)

“During my fourth year at Queen’s University, I set out to write a short novel that was forty- to fifty-thousand words long,” Wilson told me in an interview in early March. “And I did. Then, I went through the whole process of shopping it around and trying to get it published.”

That novel, entitled Defenseless (buy it here), was published by BPS Books in May 2012. A first-person narrative, the protagonist finds himself in a fight which escalates into a vicious beating by six men. With the character’s life changed forever, he tries to figure out what happened. As the pieces come together, his desire for justice becomes a thirst for vengeance. Victim becomes perpetrator.

For Wilson, the book, which sold a couple hundred copies, was a huge success simply because it was a dream realized. The feedback was even more rewarding. A few months after publishing, he received a special note from someone who had gone through a similar experience to that of the narrator. He said Peter’s story helped him through a tough recovery.

“I remember it sinking in at that moment that I had achieved what I wanted,” Wilson said. “I remember thinking in that instant that the work was worth it. That was success, connection.”

Three Hockey-Playing Brothers

Peter, Tom, and James. (Photo credit: Peter Wilson)

On June 22nd, Peter’s middle brother — referred to lovingly as Tommy, heard the sentence that most Canadian boys dream about.

“The Washington Capitals are pleased to select from the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers, Tom Wilson,” announced General Manager George McPhee.

Peter, Tom, and James play hockey with their dad on their backyard rink.

The entire Wilson family had traveled to Pittsburgh that day, hoping their talented 18-year-old would be drafted in the first round. The likelihood of being drafted so high was slight, but with this fanatical hockey family, it was no surprise.

Growing up in a suburb of Toronto, the family had a backyard hockey rink and played together constantly. Peter, the oldest of three Wilson brothers, loved the sport, getting as high the ‘AA’ North Toronto team.

“Tommy was always playing with with me and my friends in our backyard rink,” Peter explained. “That’s how he got exposure to guys five years older than him. He was really competitive out there.” Playing against more talented players as well as being blessed with his own unique physical gifts led Tom to star for Plymouth, a junior hockey team located several hours away from Toronto.

A few years later, James, the youngest of the three Wilson brothers, was drafted by the same junior team Tom was, Plymouth, in the 10th round of the 2012 OHL Draft. He currently plays in AAA.

As these events unfolded, Peter set out to write his second book.

“It’s Kinda My Love Letter to Hockey”

Photo credit: Peter Wilson

Wilson’s second book, entitled They Play Hockey In Heaven (buy a personalized copy here for $12), is a gripping, 126-page read about how one of the hockey-playing Austin brothers deals with the death of his father and the closing of the old rink where his family’s bond was strongest. Making it his mission to re-open the rink no matter what, the brother works through  a series of challenges to accomplish what his dad failed to before his death. The journey repairs a community and allows his family to find peace.

While They Play Hockey In Heaven is fiction, many of the details are drawn from Peter’s vast background in the sport that he and his brothers so deeply love. It even includes a fight between both Austin brothers, which you have to assume is something Peter did with Tom as kids.

“You could compare the book to the Field of Dreams, but for hockey,” Peter explained during our call. “It’s kinda my love letter to hockey. If you like the sport I think you’ll like and identify with this book.”

Peter has already gotten a bunch of support from his little brother on Twitter. Tom has instagrammed a photo of the book and he’s also tweeted out links to buy it. And then there’s the support he got from frigging rock legend Tom Cochrane, the man best known for singing “Life is a Highway.”

Before each chapter begins, lyrics from Cochrane’s Big League appear.

“I actually had the opportunity to send it to him and have him read it,” Wilson said. “I didn’t really think anything of it initially, but then a few weeks later, I had an email from Tommy Cochrane. That was probably my wow moment of this book.”

In fact, Cochrane loved the story so much, he wrote a glowing recommendation for it, which was both a surreal and exciting moment for Wilson. Part of it read, “[This book] is a must read for any Canadian who is truly connected to their cultural roots in our country.” Capitals fans will love it too.

They Play Hockey In Heaven is just another notch in the belt for an uber-talented Canadian family that will see Tom Wilson make his NHL debut in the not-so-distant future. Peter’s book honors the game and connects it with real-world problems.

On page 124 he writes, “There are thousands of distractions and obstacles when you are trying to score. Trying to achieve a goal and score a goal. You have to be focused. You can’t let anything get in your way. You can’t give up. That’s why hockey is the best place to learn about life.”

That’s the stuff. Buy it here.

Book trailer.

Photo credit: Plymouth Whalers

Washington Capitals first-round pick Tom Wilson put up another impressive playoff performance. In game two against regular-season champions the London Knights, Wilson scored three goals and added an assist (unofficially as of right now) as his team won 4-3 in double overtime.

Potential 2013 first-rounder Bo Horvat opened the scoring after winning a puck battle in the corner, giving the Knights a 1-0 lead that they preserved until the end of the first period. Wilson tied the game in the second, holding his stick behind his back to score a wild deflection goal.

Crazy.

The Knights took the lead back thanks to a powerplay snipe by Chris Tierney. Wilson went into beast mode after that, getting more physical as the game wore on. In the second period, he laid this big hit on Horvat.

In the third period, Wilson tied the game, scoring a powerplay goal off a rebound.

Three minutes later, 2013 first-round prospect Max Domi’s powerplay goal put the Knights back on top, but they couldn’t protect that lead. With 44 seconds to go, Wilson again tied the game, goal assisted by another Caps prospect, Connor Carrick.

Early in OT, the Knights had a sizable advantage. The Whalers improved as the first overtime period wore on, getting a few chances late. Whalers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was tremendous (61 saves in the game). More of the same continued in the second OT. The Whalers killed off four penalties in OT before getting their first man advantage. They took full advantage of it. Gianluca Curcuruto’s shot was stopped, but Wilson stole the rebound again, feeding it to a wide-open Rickard Rakell, who didn’t miss the open net.

The series is now tied at one with the Whalers getting home-ice advantage. Game 3 will be played in Plymouth on Tuesday.

Connor Carrick on draft day. (Photo credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Washington Capitals 2012 fifth round draft pick Connor Carrick played in his first OHL regular season game for the Plymouth Whalers Friday after his controversial decision to decommit from the University of Michigan.

The hockey gods must have thought that Carrick made the right decision however, because the talented defenseman scored a goal in Plymouth’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Carrick’s teammate, Caps’ 2012 first-round draft pick Tom Wilson, also tallied an assist.

Carrick’s goal is at 2:20. Wilson’s assist is at 3:27

On Carrick’s goal, the 18-year-old defenseman sneaks waaaaaaay down from his point position to the slot. After he takes a beautiful cross-ice pass from talented 2013 draft-eligible prospect Ryan Hartman, Carrick flips the puck past the surprised goalie. At the time, the goal allowed the Whalers to complete a furious comeback from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game.

On Wilson’s assist (#10 in the video), the six-foot four-inch behemoth clears out room in front of the net for Stefan Noesen to score.

Despite the Caps prospects timely contributions that night, the Greyhounds scored on the first shot of overtime, as Brandon Alderson avoided a hip check and perfectly placed a puck past Whalers’ goaltender Matt Mahalak.

Saturday night, the Whalers lost their home opener 3-2 against the Belleville Bulls. Their next game will come next Saturday against Sudbury.

Photo credit: @RickyRakell93

Way back in June, after George McPhee took Tom Wilson 16th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Wilson revealed to the media that he was a big fan of Alex Ovechkin as a kid. “I had his jersey growing up,” the Toronto native said. “It’s gonna be really cool to meet him [in training camp].”

Unfortunately, since the NHL and NHLPA are being a bunch of [redacted] [redacteds], the two will not meet this year. Wilson was re-assigned to his junior team last week and Ovechkin’s currently looking for work in Russia.

But that’s okay. Like I said a few days ago, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So on Monday, during a Plymouth Whalers day off, Wilson got the team together for what we here at RMNB call the pageview extravaganza — a game of shirtless soccer — one of Ovechkin’s signature workouts. Wilson (bottom left, shirtless) and Capitals fifth round draft pick Connor Carrick both played and fun was had by all.

And we thought we’d have nothing to post during the lockout.