While Ryan Leonard and Andrew Cristall didn’t play for the Washington Capitals last season, the two star prospects both might have felt like they did considering the outreach they received from one star player on the team.
“I’ve talked with Tom Wilson a lot,” Leonard said during Development Camp. The Capitals’ 2023 first-round pick, who is a power forward and has drawn comparisons to the rugged right winger, spent last season with the Boston College Eagles, notching 60 points (31g, 29a) in 40 games.
“Tom was really nice to kind of reach out to me a couple times,” added Cristall, who had 111 points for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets and was a Hershey Bears’ black ace. “He’s been talking to me and it’s super nice (of him).”
Wilson’s words to the future Capitals come as he’s being groomed himself to be the next captain of the team when Alex Ovechkin retires.
Behind the scenes, Wilson has long been viewed as captain material and a player to whom prospects and young players go for advice. Wilson has naturally taken to the role after entering a veteran Capitals locker room during his first years as an NHL player.
“I think since Day 1 when he came to the league, he shows his leadership on the ice and off the ice,” Ovechkin said of Wilson in May. “He’s always in team-wise on the ice and off the ice. His support, this organization, he’s a leader, and probably a future captain, as well.”
Wilson began serving as the Capitals’ second alternate captain this past season, sharing the duty with TJ Oshie after Nicklas Backstrom stepped away from the team. John Carlson was the team’s primary alternate. Next season, Wilson could be a full-time alternate if Oshie can’t solve his lingering back issues.
After signing a seven-year contract extension last August that will run through 2031, Wilson is tied for the longest-signed current Capitals player with recent acquisition Pierre-Luc Dubois and is essentially the captain in waiting. Ovechkin has two seasons remaining on what could be his final contract in the NHL.
The Great Eight has served as captain of the club since January 5, 2010, when the then-24-year-old Russian first got the nod ahead of a game against the Montreal Canadiens. When the Ovechkin Era ends, the next captain will be the 15th in franchise history.
While Wilson has been the primary NHL contact for two of the organization’s brightest prospects, he’s not the only Capitals player to try and make an early connection with likely future teammates.
“I was lucky enough to meet Charlie Lindgren over there [at Worlds] and Fehervary on Slovakia,” Leonard said. “So it was cool to put names to faces and actually get yourself out there. But yeah, all those guys are awesome. Saw them a couple times this year, so it’s cool.”
Leonard was chosen as one of a handful of college players to represent Team USA at the latest World Championship. Lindgren, who initially declined an invitation, arrived midway through the tournament after the US team suffered an injury in net and called Lindgren a second time.
The two didn’t share a locker room forlong though as the Americans were bounced out of the quarterfinals in a 1-0 loss to Czechia. Lindgren only played in two games.
Cristall had the unique opportunity of joining up with the Bears before they started their successful defense of the Calder Cup. Unlike Leonard due to his NCAA status, Cristall was able to attend last year’s Training Camp and even make his NHL preseason debut so he has further established friendships with many of the younger pros in the Capitals’ organization.
“Obviously guys like Vinny, Vincent Iorio, Lapierre, Dubé,” Cristall said. “Bunch of guys on Hershey, talked to a lot. Yeah, it’s good.”
The two youngsters will be in the same situation this year with Leonard returning to Boston College for his sophomore season and Cristall eligible to make the Capitals out of camp but still not old enough to graduate full-time from the CHL to the AHL.
So, they may continue to get regular check-ins with Wilson.
