- Cole Hutson says Tom Wilson got on him for a toe drag that turned the puck over in a lopsided Capitals win
- The 20-year-old defenseman calls Wilson a close friend who will “humble you real quick”
- Read below for the full story Hutson told at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase
Cole Hutson found out in a hurry that the fancy stuff comes with a bill in Washington.
The 20-year-old defenseman was asked at the 2026 NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Chicago to name his most embarrassing hockey moment, and he skipped right past his junior days to a night Tom Wilson chewed him out over a toe drag. Hutson told the story to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan as part of a rookie roundtable.
“Multiple turnovers at every level. I had a toe drag when we were up like 4- or 5-1 in Toronto, and Tom [Wilson] let me hear it after the game. He’s a guy I’m really close with off the ice, but he’ll humble you real quick. You respect him, and you listen, and then you move on.”
That was April 8 against the Maple Leafs, the 11th of Hutson’s 14 NHL appearances last season. Washington won it 4-0.
Hutson also capped that night with the most Cole Hutson moment imaginable. He buried an empty-netter late, then realized he could have slid it across to Ilya Protas, who was playing his first NHL game and still hunting his first goal.
Watch his face go from thrilled to horrified in about half a second:
Wilson has been handling both the welcoming and the humbling in that room for a while now. He is the presumed next captain in Washington whenever Alex Ovechkin’s run ends, and he had already introduced himself to Hutson the fun way back in March, right after the rookie scored his first NHL goal.
Take a look at the shaving cream pie that came with it:
Reaching out early is a habit for the Capitals winger. Ryan Leonard and Andrew Cristall have both talked about hearing from Wilson while they were still in college and junior, long before either one signed.
Washington sent Hutson and Cristall to the showcase, which moved to Chicago this summer after four straight years at the Capitals’ practice facility. Gavin McKenna headlined the class:
Taken 43rd overall in 2024, Hutson left Boston University in March and signed a three-year entry-level deal worth $975,000 a year. He has spent the rest of his summer doing things like draining a hole-in-one.
Now he gets a full rookie season to test how many toe drags Wilson will sit through.
