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Christian Thomas (ice hockey)

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Christian Thomas
Thomas with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2013
Born (1992-05-26) May 26, 1992 (age 32)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
ELH team
Former teams		 HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Arizona Coyotes
Rögle BK
Traktor Chelyabinsk
SC Bern
KooKoo
Barys Nur-Sultan
HC Bolzano
National team  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 for HC Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga. He was selected in the second round, 40th overall, by the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[2][3][4] Thomas has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes. He is the son of former NHL player Steve Thomas.[2][5]

Playing career

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Junior

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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

[edit]

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]

On June 18, 2024, Czech Extraliga club HC Bílí Tygři Liberec announced Thomas had been signed to a one-year contract.[45]

International play

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Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang

Thomas represented Canada at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships.[46][47] He had two goals and one assist in six games for Team Canada.[46][47] 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

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 London Knights OHL 32 4 7 11 4 — — — — —
2008–09 Oshawa Generals OHL 27 4 10 14 10 — — — — —
2009–10 Oshawa Generals OHL 64 41 25 66 27 — — — — —
2010–11 Oshawa Generals OHL 66 54 45 99 38 10 9 10 19 4
2011–12 Oshawa Generals OHL 55 34 33 67 12 6 2 2 4 0
2011–12 Connecticut Whale AHL 5 1 1 2 0 6 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Connecticut Whale AHL 73 19 16 35 15 — — — — —
2012–13 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 55 11 16 27 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 52 11 11 22 18 — — — — —
2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 18 1 0 1 7 — — — — —
2015–16 St. John's IceCaps AHL 18 7 7 14 4 — — — — —
2015–16 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Springfield Falcons AHL 16 3 4 7 4 — — — — —
2015–16 Arizona Coyotes NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL 65 24 25 49 6 5 1 0 1 0
2017–18 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 51 18 16 34 14 2 0 0 0 2
2018–19 Rögle BK SHL 11 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 35 9 10 19 22 4 1 0 1 2
2019–20 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 20 2 1 3 6 — — — — —
2019–20 SC Bern NL 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2020–21 KooKoo Liiga 32 10 13 23 6 2 2 0 2 0
2021–22 Barys Nur–Sultan KHL 9 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2021–22 SC Bern NL 28 10 7 17 4 — — — — —
2022–23 HC Bolzano ICEHL 48 25 10 35 10 19 4 6 10 8
2023–24 HC Bolzano ICEHL 48 17 21 38 10 11 1 4 5 4
AHL totals 335 94 96 190 83 13 1 0 1 2
NHL totals 27 1 2 3 9 — — — — —
KHL totals 64 11 12 23 28 4 1 0 1 2

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Canada Ontario U17 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 2 0 2 6
2010 Canada WJC18 7th 6 2 1 3 6
2018 Canada OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 12 4 1 5 12
Senior totals 6 1 1 2 2

References

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  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. ^ a b Brooks, L. (June 27, 2010). "Rangers Select Thomas, Son of Former Islanders & Devils Forward". New York Post. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  3. ^ a b c Zipay, S. (June 26, 2010). "Rangers select Steve Thomas' son, Christian, in second round". Newsday. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  4. ^ a b "Thomas' promise reflected in numbers". newyorkrangers.com. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  5. ^ a b "Steve Thomas". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d e "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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. ^ The Hockey News (18 June 2024). "Ex-NHLer Christian Thomas signs with Czech club Liberec". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  46. ^ a b "Christian Thomas". CapGeek.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  47. ^ a b "Player Statistics by Team: Canada" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
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