Christian Thomas (ice hockey)

Last updated

Christian Thomas
Christian Thomas.jpg
Born (1992-05-26) May 26, 1992 (age 31)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
ICEHL team
Former teams		 HC Bolzano
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Arizona Coyotes
Rögle BK
Traktor Chelyabinsk
SC Bern
KooKoo
Barys Nur-Sultan
National teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NHL Draft 40th overall, 2010
New York Rangers
Playing career 2011–present

Christian Patrick Thomas [1] (born May 26, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for HC Bozen-Bolzano of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). Thomas played junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Christian Thomas was drafted 40th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2nd round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. [2] [3] [4] Thomas made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with the Rangers on February 23, 2013. He is the son of former NHL player Steve Thomas. [2] [5]

Contents

Playing career

Junior

Thomas started his junior hockey career with the OHL London Knights in 2008 as the 13th overall selection in the OHL Priority Selection. [6] He was traded to the Generals in the middle of the season in a trade in which London received Michael Del Zotto, John Tavares and Daryl Borden. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] During the 2008–09 season, Thomas scored four goals each for the Knights and the Generals. [10] In 2009–10, his second OHL season, Thomas scored 41 goals. [3] [11] Tyler Seguin and Jeff Skinner were the only two 2010 first round draft picks to score more goals in junior hockey in 2009–10 than Thomas. [3] He also was credited with 25 assists, for a total of 66 points, leading Oshawa in both goals and points. [6] [11] He had four shorthanded goals during the season, a new Oshawa franchise record. [6] He was named the Eastern Conference's most improved player in a post-season coaches poll, and was also in the top three in several other categories—best shot, hardest shot, most dangerous in goal area, and best stickhandler. [10] [12]

In 2010–11, Christian Thomas finished second in the league with 54 goals and sixth in the league in scoring with 99 points, while also tying for the league lead in power play goals. [13] [14] [15] He also finished 5th in the league in game-winning goals with nine. [16] 12 of his regular season goals came against the Kingston Frontenacs, Oshawa's first round playoff opponent. [17] He was named the OHL player of the week three times, including for the first week of the OHL playoffs. [18] At the time Oshawa was eliminated from the OHL playoffs, Thomas was leading the OHL in playoff scoring, and he ended up 7th overall in playoff points and 9th in playoff goals. [6] In the post-season coaches poll, he was named as having the OHL Eastern Conference's best shot and as "most dangerous in the goal area," after finishing as runner up in those categories the prior year. [19] [20] He also repeated his runner-up status as having the conference's hardest shot. [19] [20] Thomas' 95 goals over the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons are more than any other OHL player over those two seasons. [6] As a result of Thomas scoring more than 50 goals in 2010–11, Steve and Christian Thomas became the first father son combination to each score 50 goals in a single OHL season. [4] [21] [22] Steve Thomas had scored 51 goals for the Marlboros in 1983–84. [5]

Thomas got off to a slow start in the 2011–12 season, marred by a 10-game suspension for a high-sticking incident. [23] [24] However, he recovered and was named the OHL player of the week for the week of November 28 to December 4 for scoring 3 goals and 6 assists with a +6 plus-minus rating in 2 games. [25] He was also named the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) player of the week for that week, beating out Jérôme Gauthier-Leduc and fellow New York Ranger draftee Michael St. Croix for the honour. [26] He finished the season with 67 points in 55 games with 34 goals and 33 assists. [11] In 6 playoff games he scored 2 goals and 2 assists. [27] After the Generals were eliminated from the 2012 playoffs, Thomas joined the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL). [28]

Professional

Thomas signed a professional contract with the Rangers on May 19, 2011. [6] He scored his first professional goal for the Connecticut Whale on April 13, 2012, against the Manchester Monarchs. [29] In five regular season games for the Whale in 2011–12, Thomas scored that one goal and added one assist. [11] [30] He also played for the Whale in the AHL playoffs. [30] On February 23, 2013, Thomas was recalled to the Rangers. [31] Thomas made his NHL debut that night against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, and was scoreless with 2 shots on goal in 12 minutes as the Rangers were shut out. [32] [33] Thomas returned to the Whale after the game. [34] He finished the 2012–13 AHL season with 19 goals and 16 assists in 73 games for the Whale. [11] After the 2012–13 Whale season, he was added to the Rangers' playoff roster. [35]

On July 2, 2013, Thomas was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for prospect Danny Kristo. [36]

In the 2014–15 season, on February 12, 2015, Thomas scored his first NHL goal against Edmonton Oilers in Montreal, Quebec at the Bell Centre. [37]

During the 2015–16 season, on December 15, 2015, Thomas was traded by the Canadiens to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for prospect Lucas Lessio. [38] He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons He was recalled for 2 games before the All-Star Break and appeared in a solitary game with the Coyotes before being returned to the AHL during the All-Star Break. During his first game upon returning to the AHL he suffered a season ending injury which required surgical repair.

On July 1, 2016, Thomas signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals. [39] In 65 games with the Bears in the 2016–17 season, Thomas added 24 goals and 49 points.

As a free agent in the following off-season, Thomas was unable to secure an NHL contract and later agreed to a one-year AHL deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, affiliate to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on September 13, 2017, in order to maintain his Olympic team eligibility. [40]

After completing his sixth professional season, Thomas signed his first contract abroad as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year deal with Swedish club, Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), on July 12, 2018. [41] On November 1, 2018, Thomas left the SHL in order to sign a contract for the remainder of the season with Russian outfit, Traktor Chelyabinsk, of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). [42]

In the following 2019–20 season, Thomas continued in the KHL with Chelyabinsk, contributing with just 2 goals and 3 points in 20 games. With Traktor finishing well out of playoff contention, on February 17, 2020, Thomas left the KHL and joined SC Bern of the National League (NL) to provide depth for the final playoffs push. [43]

Thomas signed with HC Bozen-Bolzano in August 2022. [44]

International play

Medal record
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Pyeongchang

Thomas represented Canada at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships. [45] [46] He had two goals and one assist in six games for Team Canada. [45] [46] He was invited to the selection camp for Canada's National Junior Team for the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. [26] In November 2017, as part of the Olympic evaluation process, Thomas travelled to Finland as a member of Team Canada to participate in the Karjala Cup. In the final Olympic evaluation tournament, Thomas won the Spengler Cup with Team Canada in Davos, Switzerland on December 31, 2017. Thomas was then selected as a member of Canada's team for the 2018 Winter Olympics where he earned the bronze medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

   Regular season   Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2008–09 London Knights OHL 3247114—————
2008–09 Oshawa Generals OHL274101410—————
2009–10 Oshawa GeneralsOHL6441256627—————
2010–11 Oshawa GeneralsOHL665445993810910194
2011–12 Oshawa GeneralsOHL553433671262240
2011–12 Connecticut Whale AHL 5112060000
2012–13 Connecticut WhaleAHL7319163515—————
2012–13 New York Rangers NHL 10000—————
2013–14 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL5511162722—————
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL20000—————
2014–15 Hamilton BulldogsAHL5211112218—————
2014–15 Montreal CanadiensNHL181017—————
2015–16 St. John's IceCaps AHL1877144—————
2015–16 Montreal CanadiensNHL50222—————
2015–16 Springfield Falcons AHL163474—————
2015–16 Arizona Coyotes NHL10000—————
2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL65242549651010
2017–18 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL511816341420002
2018–19 Rögle BK SHL 110110—————
2018–19 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 35910192241012
2019–20 Traktor ChelyabinskKHL202136—————
2019–20 SC Bern NL 11010—————
2020–21 KooKoo Liiga 32101323622020
2021–22 Barys Nur–Sultan KHL90110—————
2021–22 SC BernNL28107174—————
AHL totals335949619083131012
NHL totals271239—————
KHL totals641112232841012

International

YearTeamEventResult GPGAPtsPIM
2009 Canada Ontario U17 Gold medal icon.svg62026
2010 Canada WJC18 7th62136
2018 Canada OG Bronze medal icon.svg61122
Junior totals1241512
Senior totals61122

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Roy</span> Canadian professional ice hockey centre (born 1983)

Derek Leonard Roy is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and the Edmonton Oilers. He was originally drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manny Malhotra</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1980)

Emmanuel Noveen "Manny" Malhotra is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who is currently an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a former assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He last played with the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL) on a try-out basis. During his 18-year career, he played as a centre for the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars and the New York Rangers. Malhotra was known as a two-way forward and for his faceoff proficiency, in which he won over 56% of faceoffs he took in the NHL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurtis Foster</span> Canadian ice hockey coach and former player

Kurtis Foster is a Canadian ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 408 career games in the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Van Ryn</span> Canadian former ice hockey defenceman

Michael Theodore Van Ryn is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played for the St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers, and Maple Leafs during his National Hockey League career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Locke</span> Canadian professional ice hockey player

Corey Michael Locke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Since he made his professional debut in 2004, he has predominantly featured in the AHL, with appearances in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Pyatt</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Thomas Cullum Pyatt is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He spent most of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators. Pyatt also played in the National League (NL) with Genève-Servette HC and the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with Skellefteå AIK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tavares</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1990)

John Tavares is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected first overall by the New York Islanders, for whom he played nine seasons and served as captain for five seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergei Kostitsyn</span> Belarusian ice hockey player (born 1987)

Sergei Olegovich Kostitsyn is a Belarusian professional ice hockey winger. He currently plays for Sokil Kyiv of the Ukrainian Hockey Super League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Carkner</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1980)

Matthew Carkner is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who currently serves as the head coach and general manager of the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 58th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and New York Islanders. Throughout his career, Carkner was known for his physical play and abilities as a fighter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cody Hodgson</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1990)

Cody Douglas Hodgson is a Canadian professional ice hockey centreman who is currently on a professional tryout with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Del Zotto</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1990)

Michael Del Zotto is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the New York Rangers at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He played in the NHL for the Rangers, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Ottawa Senators. Del Zotto won the Stanley Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luca Caputi</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1988)

Gianluca Caputi is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Weise</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Dale Kenton Weise is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 111th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Toffoli</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1992)

Tyler Toffoli is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicklas Jensen</span> Danish ice hockey player (born 1993)

Nicklas Jensen is a Danish ice hockey winger. He is currently playing for SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethan Werek</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1991)

Ethan Werek, also known as Wei Ruike, is a Canadian-born Chinese professional ice hockey forward. Born in Canada, he is currently playing for HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga. He represented China at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He was selected by the New York Rangers in the 2nd round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Laughton</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1994)

Scott Laughton is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Lessio</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Lucas Lessio is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently under contract with EC KAC of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). Lessio was selected 56th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dal Colle</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1996)

Michael Dal Colle is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with Iserlohn Roosters in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Dal Colle was selected by the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Dal Colle was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, but grew up in Vaughan, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Studnicka</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Jack Studnicka is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the San Jose Barracuda in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Studnicka was drafted in the second round by the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

References

  1. ↑ The middle name "Patrick" is confirmed in the "BIRTHS DEATHS" section of the Toronto Star dated Saturday May 30, 1992 page C7. "Births" section.
  2. 1 2 Brooks, L. (June 27, 2010). "Rangers Select Thomas, Son of Former Islanders & Devils Forward". New York Post . Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  3. 1 2 3 Zipay, S. (June 26, 2010). "Rangers select Steve Thomas' son, Christian, in second round". Newsday. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  4. 1 2 "Thomas' promise reflected in numbers". newyorkrangers.com. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  5. 1 2 "Steve Thomas". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Thomas agrees to first NHL contract". New York Rangers . Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  7. ↑ Sager, N. (November 26, 2010). "OHL: Mark Hunter willing to wear it for London Knights' tumble". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  8. ↑ "Tavares dealt to London". Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  9. ↑ McGourty, J. (June 21, 2010). "Christian Thomas hoping to follow in dad's shoes". nhl.com. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  10. 1 2 3 Boylen, R. (December 23, 2010). "Prospect Watch: Christian Thomas". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Christian Thomas". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  12. ↑ "OHL Announces 2009–10 Eastern Conference Coaches Poll Winners". hockeysfuture.com. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  13. ↑ "2010–11 OHL Goal Leaders". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  14. ↑ "2010–11 OHL Scoring Leaders". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  15. ↑ "2010–11 OHL Power Play Goal Leaders". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  16. ↑ "2010–11 OHL Game Winning Goal Leaders". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  17. ↑ Graham, D. "Fronts paying plenty of attention to Generals star". Kingston Whig-Standard. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  18. ↑ "Thomas is OHL's best once again". Vancouver Sun. March 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  19. 1 2 "IceDogs Lead the Way in Eastern Conference Coaches Poll". Niagara IceDogs. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  20. 1 2 "Boys coming together at right time". The Oshawa Express. April 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  21. ↑ Zwolinski, M. (March 24, 2011). "Generals' Christian Thomas follows in father Steve's 50-goal footsteps". Toronto Star . Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  22. ↑ "Nugent-Hopkins tops in WHL". Vancouver Sun. March 14, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-25.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ Headley, A. "Generals' Thomas Closes In On Savard for 5th All-Time". Ontario Hockey League. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  24. ↑ King, P. (December 5, 2011). "World Junior Power Rankings". sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  25. ↑ "Generals' Christian Thomas Named OHL Player of the Week". Ontario Hockey League. December 5, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  26. 1 2 "Generals' Christian Thomas Named CHL Player of the Week". Ontario Hockey League. December 6, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  27. ↑ "Top scorers: 2012 playoffs". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  28. ↑ "Two More Ranger Draft Picks Join Whale". Connecticut Whale. April 1, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-08.[ permanent dead link ]
  29. ↑ Ring, B. "Whale's Last Regular-Season Home Game Yields 5–4 Shootout Loss". Connecticut Whale. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  30. 1 2 Crawford, B. (May 4, 2012). "A Tale of Two Thomas'". SportsPageMagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  31. ↑ Leonard, P. (February 23, 2013). "NY Rangers recall Christian Thomas and Steve Eminger prior to Saturday's game in Montreal, Rick Nash placed on IR retroactively". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  32. ↑ "Price and Canadiens shut out Rangers 3–0". Associated Press. February 23, 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  33. ↑ "NY Rangers at Montreal". February 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  34. ↑ "Rangers assign Thomas to Whale". Connecticutplus.com. February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  35. ↑ "Rangers call up 10 players from Whale". New York Rangers. April 28, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  36. ↑ "Rangers trade Thomas to Canadiens for Kristo". National Hockey League. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  37. ↑ "(Video) First NHL Goal: Thomas opens scoring for Canadiens with bullet past Fasth". Hockey's Future. 2015-02-13. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  38. ↑ "Coyotes Acquire Thomas from Montreal in Exchange for Lessio". National Hockey League. 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  39. ↑ "Capitals sign Cannata, Dietz and Thomas". Washington Capitals. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  40. ↑ "Penguins sign Christian Thomas". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  41. ↑ "Attacker ready for Rogle!" (in Swedish). Rögle BK. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  42. ↑ "Traktor agree to terms with Canadian Thomas" (in Russian). Traktor Chelyabinsk. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  43. ↑ "Christian Thomas joins SCB" (in German). SC Bern. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  44. ↑ Swiss Hockey News (30 August 2022). "Next stop Bolzano - Christian Thomas to play in the ICEHL". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  45. 1 2 "Christian Thomas". CapGeek.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  46. 1 2 "Player Statistics by Team: Canada" (PDF). IIHF . Archived (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.