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Plymouth Whalers’ Tom Wilson makes NHL debut, fan buys his father a personalized Washington Capitals jersey
For a hockey parent, little is so affirming as seeing a son debut in the National Hockey League, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Plymouth Whalers wing Tom Wilson has only seen spot duty in his two games with the Washington Capitals during their first-round series with the New York Rangers.
However, it's a fair bet his father Keven Wilson's memory of the 19-year-old's first game has been enriched by a random act of kindness.
From Dan Steinberg:
Keven wore a nondescript black pullover to Verizon Center. His eldest son Peter, though, wore one of Tom’s jerseys from the Plymouth Whalers, a previous stop. And with that, their cover was blown.
“It was tough to be anonymous,” the father joked. “People were recognizing us all over the place.”
... The Wilsons went out to stretch their legs before the extra session.
“Next thing I know, this fellow shows up and throws a jersey at me,” Keven recalled. “He said ‘You’re in Washington, you have to have a Washington jersey.’ ”
When Wilson unfolded the red sweater, he realized it had been personalized with his son’s name and number.
“I can’t take this from you, are you kidding me?” he said.“This is a great day for you and your family,” the stranger said. “I want you to have it.” (DC Sports Bog)
Probably a better story for Father's Day than Mother's Day, eh? Perhaps it's not for nothing that the Capitals ended up winning that game in overtime. It's also likely a better memory than what happened to Wilson in his second NHL game on Sunday, when he lost the blade on his right skate after banging up against the boards.
Chances are, with the bashing style of play Tom Wilson employs, his jersey could be a much more popular seller at the Verizon Center in a few years. It's also a fair bet that he might get some more traditional digits than the No. 43 he's sporting as a mid-series plug-in.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Wilson was picked No. 16 overall in the 2012 draft by the Capitals and blossomed in an expanded offensive role with Plymouth. His third-year stats (23 goals, 58 points) were double his sophomore output (nine and 27). He made it to the final cut with Team Canada prior to the world junior championship. So for next season, it's just a question of which red jersey he'll be wearing.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.
