MILAN — Could Tom Wilson play in the Olympics and not fight?
That was a question that hovered over the combustible power forward as soon as he was named to Team Canada.
And now, thanks to Pierre Crinon, we know the answer.
In Sunday’s 10-2 blowout victory for Canada over France, the little-known Crinon took a healthy run at superstar Nathan MacKinnon in the third period.
A garbage play in garbage time.
“He elbowed me in the face, and I was nowhere near the puck,” MacKinnon said post-game, still sounding irritated. “Yeah, appreciate it. Obviously, Tom is a good teammate, and I definitely appreciate him sticking up for me.”
MacKinnon was surprised Crinon was only handed a minor penalty for interference on the play.
No one was surprised, however, that Wilson wanted retribution, hitting the third-pair defenceman and roughing things up until they dropped the gloves.
No meaningful punches were thrown, but both players were handed fighting majors and ejected.
“Yeah, that guy obviously didn’t want to fight Tom. He just wanted to wrestle,” MacKinnon said. “I wouldn’t want to fight Tom either.”
Crinon — a third-pair defenceman with a little pro experience in the Slovak league — savoured his moment, taking down Wilson, and waving his hands repeatedly to rile up the crowd as he exited Milano Santiguilia Arena in the style of a WWE heel.
One fan chucked a water bottle at him.
“I’m sure that guy was excited to go at it with him,” Canada’s goaltender, Jordan Binnington, said. “It obviously doesn’t happen very much in the Olympics, but it’s part of hockey.”
The IIHF does have the option of issuing a one-game suspension for fighting in addition to a game misconduct, but it will not be enforcing further discipline.
Wilson, who registered a rare Olympic Gordie Howe hat trick, is clear to play in the quarterfinals and Crinon in the qualifying round.
Neither Wilson nor Crinon were made available to reporters post-game.
“We didn’t like the hit. Felt like it was late and high,” 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.”
Added Sam Bennett: “We know Willy’s got our backs. 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.”
French captain Pierre-Edouard Bellmare, 40, said he’s never seen a fight in international action before.
“I mean, that wasn’t a fight. Let’s be honest,” Bellmare said. “It was big hit on Nate, and then there was another one on McDavid. I mean, obviously their guys are gonna wake up. And I’m OK with it.
“I don’t know if I can go and tell our guys to pull off. I know Wilson pulled off a few times, which was very generous, and that’s probably why he got pissed that some of our guys hit their guy. But unfortunately, as a small nation, we don’t have the luxury of time, realizing who has the puck.”
Wilson said after Canada’s opening win over Czechia that one of the Czech players had challenged him to fight, but he declined.
The man is trying to stick up for his teammates, play physical but remain in the tournament.
“You don’t know going in,” Wilson said last week. “You just want to make sure you’re finishing hard through the body. Pick your spots. I’ve been doing it a long time, and you try to be smart. Sometimes you don’t need to hit the guy, and they’ll turn it over anyway. Or sometimes you need to hit them.”
Canadian coach Jon Cooper has no issues with Wilson dropping the mitts in this instance.
“Well, I think that’s a big part of what we’re all about,” Cooper said. “These guys go through a wall for each other. It’s fun to watch. And, listen, we’re used to a lot more than that happening.
“It was pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things. But that’s Willy. Willy’s much more than that. The kid’s a helluva hockey player and outstanding in the locker room. So, sticking up for his teammates, that’s an easy one for him.”
Funny, it was one year ago that Canada and the U.S. faced off with three fights in best-on-best.
“Listen, I don’t think we can go through this tournament without seeing one,” smiled Brandon Hagel, one of those 4 Nations pugilists.
“It was probably the talk about him coming to the tournament. But that’s just what Willy does — he sticks up for teammates.
“We didn’t like what happened to Mack behind the net. That’s what you call a team. That’s why everyone praises and loves Tom Wilson. Because that’s the stuff he does.”
