2015-16 Rink Wrap: Tom Wilson

Japers’ Rink Player Card (click for a hi-res version, and a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via NHL.com, war-on-ice.com, General Fanager and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):

Wilson’s Season, Game-by-Game (via HockeyViz, explained here):

Wilson’s HERO Chart (via Own The Puck):

Wilson and His Linemates:

Wilson’s 5v5 Teammates and Competition (via HockeyViz, explained here):

Wilson’s 5v5 Usage:

Wilson’s With-or-Without You (via HockeyViz, explained here):

Wilson’s Rolling Shot-Attempt (Corsi) -For Percentage:

Wilson’s Three Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):

Key Stat: The former sixteenth overall selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft set new career highs in goals (7), assists (16), and points (23).

Interesting Stat: Wilson hit the back of the net seven times by taking more shots (20 more than his previous career best) and connecting on them at a career best 7.1 S%.

The Good: Wilson skated in all 82 games for the Capitals for the second time in his professional career and set modest new career highs in goals, assists and points. The intimidating young forward scored his first game winning goal, the second goal in a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in March, and Wilson registered goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens during November and December of last calendar year.

Wilson established himself as a penalty-killing option in 2015-16, adding a much-needed additional dimension to his game.

The Bad: Despite reducing his number of penalty minutes this season (from 172 to 163) that was still enough for third in the NHL this season, trailing only Derek Dorsett and Chris Neil. It was painfully obvious at times that the officials were keeping their eyes on Wilson for an extra half second and he will need to keep himself out of trouble to give his first round potential an opportunity to blossom. In 25 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests Wilson has recorded two assists and 38 penalty minutes.

Seven goals and 23 points are a far cry from Wilson’s ceiling (as defined by former GM George McPhee’s use of the team’s first pick in the 2012 Entry Draft) and he will need to get his offensive production going next year. The case could be made that Wilson is still an organizational project but after his third complete NHL season he is only averaging about 15 minutes of ice time per game.

The GIF/Video:

Comic:

Still effective in slowing down the magic man I guess… read more about Tom Wilson being on the naughty list here.

The Vote: Rate Wilson below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Wilson improved his boxcar stats across the board but none of the numbers validate his first round selection in 2012. He learned this year that his game is watched very closely by officials and that he will rarely get the benefit of the doubt. Wilson must prioritize his work with the puck to make himself indispensable to the organization. What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?