TJ Oshie made an appearance at Washington Capitals practice last week. The recently retired winger observed the skate from one of the benches at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, chatting with trainers and some of his former teammates.
At the same practice, the Capitals had alternate captain Tom Wilson wearing a mic, catching him chirp goaltender Logan Thompson and praising rookie winger Bogdan Trineyev. Wilson also joked around with Oshie, trying to get the long-time Capitals winger to come out of retirement.
Tom Wilson mic’d up at Capitals practice video
“I need you, man,” Wilson says to Oshie after a drill. “I’m done.”
A confused Oshie initially thinks Wilson needs a new stick before Wilson clarifies his demand.
“No, I need you on the ice,” he says. “Right side. Right side went down last game. We need you. Young right side.”
“I’m in,” Oshie jokingly replies. “I’m in.”
The young right side (right winger) that Wilson mentions Oshie may need to replace is Ryan Leonard, the Capitals’ 20-year-old rookie. Leonard was knocked out of the team’s lineup due to an upper-body injury caused by a hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba early this month.
Oshie retired this past June, but has kept himself busy off the ice, serving as a contributor to Monumental Sports Network and a studio analyst for ESPN’s national coverage of games.
After failing to get Oshie back in skates, Wilson then reminds Thompson how many times he’s scored on him during the skate.
“Two for three,” Wilson says. “Two for three. Bad save percentage.”
We then see Wilson run a few drills with Trineyev, scoring multiple times.
“BOGDAN!” Wilson screams.
“Hey, Bogdan bar down. You see that one?” Wilson asks Aliaksei Protas.
Protas was one of Trineyev’s mentors early in his pro career with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The Belarusian forward helped Trineyev with the language barrier and brought him out of his shell with the Bears.
“You just gotta get the puck to him, to Bogey,” Wilson then tells Matt Roy.
The Capitals clearly also just need to keep putting a mic on Wilson if he produces more of this.