Connor McDavid threw a hit so big in Team Canada’s win that Brad Marchand thought it was Tom Wilson: ‘No, that was Davo’
Connor McDavid may be feeling a little taller now that he has Tom Wilson riding shotgun on a line with him for Team Canada.
McDavid, who is not a physical player, threw the first big hit for Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics early in a 5-0 shutout win over Czechia. The hit was so board-rattling that Brad Marchand initially thought it was Wilson that pulverized Czech forward Lukas Sedlak.
“When I got back to the bench, Marchy said, ‘Great hit, Willy,’ and I said, ‘No, that was Davo,’” Wilson told The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy.
The McDavid-led top trio eventually left their mark on the scoresheet too, with 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini tipping home a Cale Makar point drive to put the Canadians up 1-0. Head coach Jon Cooper kept the three together throughout the rest of the victory, with McDavid registering three assists to go along with Celebrini’s goal.
“Our team wants to play hard, and everybody wants to play hard at this tournament,” McDavid told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox of his big hit. “You want to be a hard, forechecking team. And it doesn’t have to be just Willy, Benny, or Marchy. It can be everybody.”
Wilson didn’t leave the game without taking his own pound of flesh, though, laying the body on multiple Czech players throughout regulation. His most thunderous of checks came against former Washington Capitals teammate Radko Gudas during the second period.
Wilson, who skated 16:06 of ice time and recorded one shot on goal, will be back on the ice with McDavid and the rest of Team Canada on Friday.
The Canadians open their tournament with back-to-back group games, meeting Switzerland for their second test in Group A play. The Swiss were also victors on Thursday, downing France 4-0 in their own shutout.
