MILAN – Could Tom Wilson take part in the Olympics and skip the fighting?
That was a question that lingered around the fiery forward as soon as he got selected for Team Canada.
And now, thanks to Pierre Crinon, we have our answer.
During Sunday’s 10-2 rout of France by Canada, the lesser-known Crinon made a reckless move against star Nathan Mac Kinnon in the third period.
A dirty play during garbage time.
“He elbowed me in the face, and I was nowhere near the puck,” Mac Kinnon said after the game, still sounding annoyed. “Yeah, appreciate it. Obviously, Tom is a good teammate, and I definitely appreciate him sticking up for me.”
Mac Kinnon was taken aback that Crinon only received a minor penalty for interference on that play.
No one was shocked, though, when Wilson sought payback by hitting the third-pair defenceman and escalating things until they dropped their gloves.
No significant punches were thrown, but both players received fighting majors and were ejected from the game.
“Yeah, that guy obviously didn’t want to fight Tom. He just wanted to wrestle,” Mac Kinnon noted. “I wouldn’t want to fight Tom either.”
Crinon – a third-pair defenceman with some pro experience in the Slovak league – enjoyed his moment of glory as he took down Wilson and waved his arms repeatedly to get the crowd riled up while leaving Milano Santiguilia Arena like a WWE heel.
France’s Pierre Crinon (7) and Canada’s Tom Wilson (43) fight in the third period during a preliminary round game of men’s ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
One fan even threw a water bottle at him.
“I’m sure that guy was excited to go at it with him,” Canada’s goaltender Jordan Binnington commented. “It obviously doesn’t happen very often in the Olympics, but it’s part of hockey.”
The IIHF can issue a one-game suspension for fighting alongside a game misconduct; however, they will not be enforcing any additional discipline.
Wilson managed to pull off an unusual Olympic Gordie Howe hat trick and is clear to play in the quarterfinals while Crinon is available for the qualifying round.
Neither Wilson nor Crinon spoke to reporters after the match.
“We didn’t like the hit. Felt like it was late and high,” Connor Mc David shared. “Willy just finishes a check and then gets jumped by that guy; Willy’s just protecting himself. That’s all he can do. That’s just who he is-what type of teammate he is-nothing but respect for him.”
Sam Bennett added: “We know Willy’s got our backs. He’ll protect all our guys and bring energy. We love that from Willy; he’ll do anything for our team.”
The French captain Pierre-Edouard Bellmare stated he’s never seen fighting happen at international events before.
“I mean, that wasn’t really a fight. Let’s be honest,” Bellmare remarked. “It started with a big hit on Nate followed by another one on Mc David. Obviously their guys are gonna react; I’m fine with it.”
“I don’t know if I can tell our guys to back off; I know Wilson pulled back several times which was very generous of him-that’s probably why he got upset when some of our players hit theirs-but unfortunately being from a smaller nation means we don’t have time to figure out who has possession.”
Wilson mentioned after Canada’s initial win over Czechia that one player had challenged him to fight but he turned it down.
The guy’s trying to defend his teammates while playing tough but staying in contention during this tournament.
“You never know going into these games,” Wilson said last week. “You just want to make sure you’re finishing hard through bodies-pick your spots wisely. I’ve been doing this long enough-you try being smart about it sometimes you don’t need to hit anyone-they’ll turn it over anyway or sometimes you have no choice but to hit them.”
The Canadian coach Jon Cooper has no problems with Wilson dropping his gloves this time around.
“Well I think that’s an essential part of what we’re about,” Cooper said. “These guys would go through anything for each other-it’s fun watching them-and honestly we’re used to seeing way more than just this happening.”
