The Athletic has live coverage of Canada vs. Switzerland in the 2026 Olympic women’s hockey semifinals.
MILAN — When the debate first began in Canada on whether Tom Wilson would make the Olympic men’s hockey team, there was a clear incident that remained top of mind. The moment when the idea first germinated. The nine seconds that put Wilson’s name firmly in the conversation.
It happened on Feb. 15, 2025 in Montreal, when Canada’s Brandon Hagel, Sam Bennett and Colton Parayko fought, in order, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller of Team USA in the first nine seconds of a preliminary-round game at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The argument against including Wilson was that there was no fighting at the Olympics.
Someone clearly forgot to tell Wilson.
Exactly one year after the three fights in nine seconds broke the internet and ramped up the intensity of a tournament most people were looking at as a gimmick, Wilson got into a fight with Pierre Crinon as retribution for a dirty hit the French defenseman laid on Nathan MacKinnon earlier in the third period.
The three Canadian players who took part in the festivities one year earlier all watched and appreciated what Wilson did for their teammate.
In fact, they loved it.
“Listen, I don’t think we can go through this tournament without seeing one,” Hagel said with a smile. “It was probably the talk about him coming to the tournament. But that’s just what Willy does, he sticks up for teammates. Obviously we didn’t like what happened to Mack (MacKinnon) 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.’’
Not everyone praises and loves Tom Wilson. And there have certainly been moments for every member of Team Canada where they did not praise and love Tom Wilson, the opponent.
But Tom Wilson, the teammate, is an entirely different matter.
MacKinnon especially appreciated Wilson standing up for him.
“He’s a fantastic teammate, he’s a great guy off the ice and doing everything on the ice too,” MacKinnon said. “He’s a pleasure to have.”
The incident began when MacKinnon was behind the France net with a little more than eight minutes left in regulation of a 9-2 game. MacKinnon did not have the puck, but was a bit hunched over looking for it when Crinon arrived and delivered a clear elbow to MacKinnon’s head. The referees originally called a major penalty, but revised it to a minor after reviewing it on video.
Considering the state of the game at the time, and the severe head contact, Canada was collectively angry about the hit — not least of all MacKinnon himself, who remained on the ice for a few moments before making his way back to the bench and ultimately staying in the game.
“I mean, I didn’t love it,” MacKinnon said. “Elbow in my chin, don’t have the puck. What do you think?”
Crinon exited the penalty box when Macklin Celebrini scored on the power play 25 seconds later to complete the scoring in a 10-2 blowout. Off a faceoff in the France zone, Crinon was going below his goal line to collect the puck when Wilson made a beeline straight for him and laid a hard, clean hit. Crinon kind of shoved Wilson back, engaged with him, and Wilson did not need more of an invitation.
The gloves were off and the two were grappling at each other’s jerseys for position when Crinon grabbed Wilson by the sweater and yanked him to the ice, effectively ending the fight. Except that the officials were working to remove Crinon from the scene, Wilson popped free, wheeled around the officials and tried to get another shot at Crinon before he was pulled away.
“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.”
France captain Pierre-Édouard Bellemare played 10 years in the NHL and agreed with MacKinnon’s sentiment.
“You can’t call that a fight,” Bellemare said. “The five (minutes) was kind of ridiculous. Just give them the two plus two for roughing and wash it off. If you guys have covered the NHL, you wouldn’t categorize that as a fight, right?”
The officials did, giving both Crinon and Wilson two minutes for roughing, five minutes for fighting and the automatic game misconduct that comes with a fighting major in international hockey.
The French hockey federation seemingly did too. The head of the Fédération Française de Hockey sur glace (FFHG), Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, will meet with Crinon on Monday to discuss the incident.
Considering there was 6:59 left in the game, MacKinnon considered the fight’s timing to be perfect.
“I don’t think he’s getting suspended,” he said. “There’s six or seven minutes left in the game. He’s going to get kicked out, but he’d miss that much time anyways if it was just a five (minute penalty). Obviously I don’t expect anyone to fight, but it’s not the worst time ever to fight.”
Not the worst time ever, except for the fact that this happened at the Olympics, where it never happens.
Still, Wilson sent a message to the tournament: take liberties with Canada’s stars at your own risk. And while every one of his teammates took great pains to mention how Wilson’s role on the team goes far beyond fighting, being a good teammate is a big part of his role, and Wilson filled that role to perfection.
“I think that’s kind of the special part, one of the special parts, about when you get opportunities like this. You see how close the team gets, how much guys come together when you put on this jersey,” Canada captain Sidney Crosby said. “Regardless (of) where you played before or what’s happened in the past, we’re in it together. That’s something that goes a long way. It was great to see.
“Obviously it’s a team sport and we’re a team. I thought that was a good example.”
And ultimately, as MacKinnon mentioned, Wilson’s timing could not have been better.
He marked the first anniversary of three of the most memorable fights in recent history by adding a memorable fight of his own.
