Tim Thomas (ice hockey, born 1963)

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Tim Thomas
Born (1963-05-28) May 28, 1963 (age 61)
Richfield, Minnesota, USA
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shot Left
Played for Wisconsin
Indianapolis Checkers
Tappara
Baltimore Skipjacks
Diables Noirs de Tours
Nijmegen Tigers
National team  United States
Playing career 1981–1992

Tim Thomas is an American retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for Wisconsin and won a Liiga championship in 1987.[1]

Career

Thomas was a member of Bob Johnson's final recruiting class and began playing at Wisconsin a year after the team won their third NCAA championship. The Badgers were still a powerful team in Thomas' first season, winning the WCHA Tournament and returning to the national championship game, only to conference rival North Dakota. Thomas had played well that season and was invited to participate at the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Team USA finished in 6th, a typical result for the team. The next season began shaping up even better for Thomas. Wisconsin looked ready to compete for a championship again while he spent time as both a forward and defenseman. Thomas played in his second WJC and, though he wasn't able to help them finish in the medals, Thomas led the US National team in scoring.[2] His stellar play earned him an invite to the National Team for the upcoming World Championships and he remained with the national team for the remainder of the year. Thomas helped the US win pool-B with an undefeated record and a promotion to the top bracket for the subsequent world championship.

With Wisconsin having won a National Championship in his absence, Thomas remained with Team USA for the next season as they prepared for the 1984 Winter Olympics. He played through the entire season with the program and was even included on the Olympic roster, but he didn't play in any of the games.[3] After a disappointing 7th-place finish, Thomas left the national team and returned to Wisconsin. The team had fallen off the pace after making three consecutive championship games and was now playing just well enough to not make tournament appearances. Upon his return, Thomas produced a monster offensive season, leading the team with 50 assists and finishing second at 63 points. He led all defensemen in the nation in scoring and was named an All-American. After Wisconsin was eliminated from the playoffs, he rejoined the US national team one final time at the World Championships, helping the team to a 4th-place finish.

In his senior season, Thomas's numbers slipped a bit but he was still able to help Wisconsin to a 27-win season. The team, however, was swept in the conference semifinals and missed out on another NCAA tournament. Immediately after the season was over, Thomas began his professional career and played the rest of the season with the Indianapolis Checkers. Despite posting good numbers, he ended up playing the next season in Finland. He joined reigning league champion Tappara and helped the club repeat with their 6th championship.

He was back in North America the following season but ended up playing just 10 games for the Baltimore Skipjacks. He headed back to Europe in 1988 and played a year with Diables Noirs de Tours. After sitting out for a few seasons, Thomas ended his playing career with the Nijmegen Tigers in 1992.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1981–82 Wisconsin WCHA 44 10 18 28 33 — — — — —
1982–83 Wisconsin WCHA 23 7 7 14 31 — — — — —
1984–85 Wisconsin WCHA 42 13 50 63 62 — — — — —
1985–86 Wisconsin WCHA 42 11 38 49 122 — — — — —
1985–86 Indianapolis Checkers IHL 10 3 5 8 15 5 0 2 2 2
1986–87 Tappara Tampere SM-liiga 44 4 3 7 50 9 1 2 3 15
1987–88 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 10 2 4 6 7 — — — — —
1988–89 ASG Tours Nationale 1A 30 17 22 39 66 — — — — —
1991–92 Nijmegen Tigers Eredivisie 10 3 6 9 4 — — — — —
NCAA totals 151 41 113 154 248 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1982 United States WJC 6th 7 0 3 3 10
1983 United States WJC 5th 7 4 5 9 4
1983 United States WC-B 1st — — — — —
1983–84 United States International — 56 — — — —
1984 United States Olympics 7th 0 0 0 0 0
1985 United States WC 4th 10 0 2 2 16

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1984–85 [4]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1984–85 [1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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