Canadas Tom Wilson drops gloves in rare Olympic hockey fight

MILAN — Who says there’s no fighting in hockey at the Olympics? Tom Wilson clearly does not care that it’s shunned in international play.

Wilson dropped the gloves late in Canada’s 10-2 rout of France on Sunday, going after the player who delivered a forearm to the head of teammate Nathan MacKinnon minutes earlier.

“Obviously, fighting isn’t a big thing in this tournament, but when a guy takes a run at one of our big guys, that’s what Willy does,” three-time Olympian Drew Doughty said. “I mean, he does a lot more than that, but it was great to see him step up.”

Wilson fought Pierre Crinon, who was given a two-minute minor penalty and apologized to MacKinnon after the hit in the third period. Scoring 25 seconds into the ensuing power play was not good enough punishment in the eyes of Canada’s players.

“We didn’t like the hit, felt like it was late and high,” tournament leading scorer Connor McDavid said. “Willy just finishes a check and the guy jumps him, and Willy’s just protecting himself. That’s all he can do. That’s the type of guy he is, type of teammate he is. Nothing but respect for him.”

Unlike the NHL, where it is a five-minute major penalty, fighting is a game misconduct under International Ice Hockey Federation rules, so Wilson and Crinon were ejected. The outcome was already long determined, and Wilson missed only the final seven minutes of the game.

“We’re used to a lot more than that happening, so it was pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things,” coach Jon Cooper said. “Sticking up for his teammates, that’s an easy one for him.”

Wilson, 31, also had a goal and an assist, along with the fight, giving him what is known in hockey as a “Gordie Howe hat trick.”

The winger is one of just a few new players for Canada who did not play at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago, when there were three fights in the first nine seconds of the team’s first game against the U.S.

Wilson’s fight came exactly a year after those, when Canada’s Brandon Hagel, Sam Bennett and Colton Parayko fought Americans Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller.

“Listen, I don’t think we can go through this tournament without seeing one,” Hagel said, smiling. “It was probably the talk about him coming to the tournament. But that’s just what Willy does: He sticks up for teammates.”

MacKinnon, who was slow to get up and spent some time on the bench before returning, appreciated Wilson standing up for him.

“That guy obviously didn’t want to fight Tom,” MacKinnon said. “He just wanted to wrestle. I wouldn’t want to fight Tom either.”

Wilson was a no-doubt pick for his physicality and ability to retrieve pucks, along with producing at a high level with the Washington Capitals. He is their leading scorer with 49 points in 50 games this season.

He is likely to be the Capitals’ captain when Alex Ovechkin retires, and Cooper called Wilson “outstanding in the locker room.” Fighting at the Olympics only gives Wilson, who did not speak to reporters afterward, more street cred with his teammates.

“We know Willy’s got our backs,” Bennett said. “He’s going to protect all our guys and bring the energy. We love that from Willy. He’s going to do anything for our team.”

Feisty goaltender Jordan Binnington, who has been known to jab a player or two with his blocker when he’s displeased, loved it.

“I definitely wasn’t surprised,” Binnington said. “That’s hockey, right? That’s hockey.”