Jim Thomson

James B. Thomson (born December 30, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1984 NHL entry draft. Thomson also played for the Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a nine year career spanning from 1985 to 1994.

Career Junior Thomson split one season between the Markham Waxers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the 1982–83 season. He played in 35 games for Markham, registering six goals and 13 points. Thomson played in 14 games with Toronto, going scoreless He returned to Toronto as an injury recall in March but did not play. He added his first point as a Marlboro while playing in four games in the 1983 OHL playoffs. He returned to the Marlboros the following season and played in 60 games, scoring 10 goals and 28 points. He added one goal in nine playoff games during the 1984 OHL playoffs. In his first full season with Binghamton in 1985–86, Thomson scored 15 goals and 24 points in 59 games and added 195 penalty minutes (PIM). He missed some games in January 1986 due to a hand injury, and in February, suffered a dislocated shoulder in a fight against Dean Defazio. Thomson added one goal and two points in six games during the 1986 Calder Cup playoffs. On October 19, Thomson received an automatic three-game suspension for pushing a linesman during their next match against the Americans. Thomson was recalled by Washington on November 21 after injuries to forwards Gaétan Duchesne and Dave Christian. He made his NHL debut on November 22 in a 5–4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was returned to Binghamton on December 12 having played in nine games with the Capitals, going scoreless. He was recalled again by Washington in late December after a series of injuries depleted their forward depth. He played in a single game against the Hartford Whalers on December 30 before being sent back to Binghamton on January 3, 1987. He played in ten games total with the Capitals that season, going scoreless. Binghamton made the Calder Cup playoffs again that season and Thomson appeared in ten games, registering one assist and 40 PIM. He also appeared in four Calder Cup playoff games, scoring one goal and three points. He scored 25 goals and 41 points in 41 games for the Skipjacks and appeared 14 games with the Capitals, scoring two goals. Thomson made his Whalers debut on March 18 in an 8–2 loss against his former team, the Capitals. He played in five games for the Whalers, going scoreless.

Thomson began the 1989–90 season back in the AHL with Hartford's affiliate, the Binghamton Whalers. He played eight games with Binghamton, scoring one goal and three points He was immediately assigned to New Jersey's AHL affiliate, the Utica Devils. Thomson appeared in 60 games with Utica registering 20 goals and 43 points. Utica made the 1990 Calder Cup playoffs and Thomson appeared in four games, scoring just one goal. and he made his NHL Devils' debut on February 9 in a 5–3 victory over his former team, the Washington Capitals. He appeared in two more games with New Jersey, going scoreless. He was assigned to Los Angeles' AHL affiliate, the New Haven Nighthawks, to start the 1990–91 season. In 27 games with the Nighthawks, Thomson scored 5 goals and 18 points. and made his Kings debut on January 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing on a line with Jay Miller and Sylvain Couturier, the Kings won 5–2. In the following game on January 6, Thomson registered his first goal and point in a Kings jersey, scoring on Ed Belfour in a 3–1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. He played in eight games for the Kings that season, scoring just the one goal. At the 1991 NHL entry draft, Thomson was traded back to the Kings along with defenceman Charlie Huddy, forward Randy Gilhen, and a fourth round pick in the draft in exchange for forward Todd Elik. All three of Thomson, Huddy and Gilhen had been selected by Minnesota in the expansion draft. Thomson spent the majority of the 1991–92 season with the Kings, playing in 45 games, scoring one goal and three points. In an 8–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on November 12, Thomson suffered a hyperextended right elbow. He returned to the lineup on November 26 after missing four games. On December 23, the Kings traded Gilhen away and replaced him with John McIntyre at center on Thomson's line. Thomson suffered a heel injury in February 1992 that caused him to miss time and after recovering, was assigned to Los Angeles' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate Phoenix Roadrunners on February 28. He played in two games with Phoenix, scoring a goal. Thomson played as part of Ottawa's checking unit, playing on a line with Laurie Boschman and Darcy Loewen. He registered his only point with the Senators assisting on Loewen's first NHL goal on October 27 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was listed as day-to-day on the injured list for the Ducks. He appeared in six games with the Mighty Ducks during the 1993–94 season. Having not played since December 2, Thomson underwent surgery on his left shoulder in late December, sidelining him indefinitely. In total, Thomson played 115 regular NHL season games, scoring four goals and three assists for seven points and collecting 416 penalty minutes.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1980–81 Markham Waxers OPJHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1981–82 Devon Dynamiters AAHA 55 60 56 116 72 — — — — — 1982–83 Markham Waxers OJHL 35 6 7 13 81 — — — — — 1982–83 Toronto Marlboros OHL 14 0 0 0 9 4 0 1 1 0 1983–84 Toronto Marlboros OHL 60 10 18 28 68 9 1 0 1 26 1984–85 Toronto Marlboros OHL 63 23 28 51 122 5 3 1 4 25 1984–85 Binghamton Whalers AHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1985–85 Binghamton Whalers AHL 59 15 9 24 195 — — — — — 1986–87 Washington Capitals NHL 10 0 0 0 35 — — — — — 1986–87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 57 13 10 23 360 10 0 1 1 40 1987–88 Binghamton Whalers AHL 25 8 9 17 64 4 1 2 3 7 1988–89 Washington Capitals NHL 14 2 0 2 53 — — — — — 1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 5 0 0 0 14 — — — — — 1988–89 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 41 25 16 41 129 — — — — — 1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 3 0 0 0 31 — — — — — 1989–90 Binghamton Whalers AHL 8 1 2 3 30 — — — — — 1989–90 Utica Devils AHL 60 20 23 43 124 4 1 0 1 19 1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 8 1 0 1 19 — — — — — 1990–91 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 27 5 8 13 121 — — — — — 1991–92 Los Angeles Kings NHL 45 1 2 3 162 — — — — — 1991–92 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1992–93 Ottawa Senators NHL 15 0 1 1 41 — — — — — 1992–93 Los Angeles Kings NHL 9 0 0 0 56 1 0 0 0 0 1992–93 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 14 4 5 9 44 — — — — — 1993–94 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 6 0 0 0 5 — — — — —NHL totals 115 4 3 7 416 1 0 0 0 0