Stanley Cup Champion And All Around Good Guy Tom Wilson Has Been Honored For His Leadership and Humanitarian Contributions To The Community

People will hate on Stanley Cup Champion Tom Wilson because they think he plays hockey over the line. And while they are usually wrong, I, as a person with a brain who watches sports and dislikes players on other teams, understand it. I’d probably hate playing against SCCTW too. So while you can hate on him for his hard hits and jarring style of play, as well as his ability to score goals at a bullet speed, one thing that you absolutely cannot take away from him is how good of a guy he is in the community.

Athletic - This is the story of Wilson’s commitment to charities that help children less fortunate than others find some joy in their lives.

This season, Wilson launched Forty Three’s Friends, a program in which he donated four tickets per game across 20 games to Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic children. Following each game, Wilson spent time with the children and their families in the Capitals locker room.

Wilson also participates in So Kids Can, a group that raises money for Heart of America, and has taken part in Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation’s KaBOOM! playground build at Bright Beginnings in Washington, D.C.

Wilson has also been active with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Top Shelf Teammates — the hockey division of the Teammates for Kids Foundation — and the Capitals Canine Calendar, which raised funding for Homeward Trails and the team’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiatives.

All in all, he’s just a great dude. Get you a top liner who can score goals, beat up the toughest guys in the league, kill penalties, and then spend the weekends visiting sick children in the hospital. Hate on Stanley Cup champion Tom Wilson if he beats up your favorite player if you must, but just know the kind of guy he truly is.

“We’re in a position where we’re fortunate enough to brighten a day or have fun with a kid who is going through a tough time,” Wilson told The Athletic. “Every kid deserves a good childhood, and when that doesn’t happen, it’s really not fair. The Caps and myself try to do whatever we can to help them out and brighten their day or their week.”