Jordan Samuels-Thomas

Jordan Blaine Samuels-Thomas (born May 28, 1990) is an American National Hockey League referee and former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the seventh round (203rd overall) of the 2009 NHL entry draft. He made his officiating debut during the 2021–22 NHL season and has refereed 55 regular season games . He wears uniform number 37.

Early life Samuels-Thomas was born in West Hartford, Connecticut. He played junior hockey with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) before attending Bowling Green State University to play the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons with the Bowling Green Falcons. He then transferred to Quinnipiac University, where he played the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons with the Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team. During his four years of college hockey Samuels-Thomas played 148 games, registering 50 goals, 54 assists, and 162 penalty minutes. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University.

Professional playing career On July 9, 2014, the Winnipeg Jets traded his NHL rights to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2015 NHL entry draft, and three days later, on July 12, 2014, the Buffalo Sabres signed him to a one-year, entry-level contract. The Sabres chose not to retain his rights after that season.

On September 24, 2015, Samuels-Thomas was signed by the Ontario Reign. He was briefly assigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL at the beginning of the season, but then was recalled back to the Reign.

On December 30, 2017, while in the midst of his second season with the Gulls, Samuels-Thomas was released from his AHL contract after appearing in 18 games for two points. On January 3, 2018, he signed his first contract abroad with Mladá Boleslav of the Czech Extraliga (ELH) until the end of the 2017–18 season. After just four games with them Samuels-Thomas switched teams again and signed with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on January 25, 2018.

As a free agent from the Panthers in the off-season, Samuels-Thomas moved to the neighboring Austrian Hockey League, agreeing to a one-year deal with Croatian-based KHL Medveščak Zagreb on August 1, 2018. In the 2018–19 season, Samuels-Thomas contributed with 11 points through 17 games before opting to leave the club mid-season. On January 18, 2019, having returned to North America, he signed an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears for the remainder of the season and was immediately assigned to ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays.

On September 29, 2019, approaching the 2019–20 season, Samuels-Thomas agreed to continue his career in the ECHL, signing with the Worcester Railers. He registered 11 goals and 29 points in 33 games with the Railers, before leaving the club to return to Europe for the remainder of the season, agreeing to a contract with German DEL2 club, Heilbronner Falken on February 3, 2020.

Officiating career Samuels-Thomas with Grant Fuhr at the 2025 AHL All Star Game. On January 29, 2021, Samuels-Thomas ended his playing career after six professional seasons and began a career as an official. He was hired on a minor-league contract by the NHL for the 2021–22 season, working a few preseason games with veteran officials. His first game in the NHL was on April 14, 2022, between the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks. Upon officiating the game, Samuels-Thomas became the third known Black official to work in the NHL after linesmen Jay Sharrers and Shandor Alphonso, and the first to be initially hired as a referee. He also became the first African-American official, as Sharrers and Alphonso are Canadian.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2006–07 Hartford Jr. Wolfpack AtJHL 43 21 38 59 44 1 1 0 1 0 2007–08 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 56 8 3 11 65 11 0 2 2 10 2008–09 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 59 32 22 54 59 3 2 1 3 2 2009–10 Bowling Green State U. CCHA 35 11 14 25 30 — — — — — 2010–11 Bowling Green State U. CCHA 36 9 12 21 46 — — — — — 2012–13 Quinnipiac University ECAC 43 17 12 29 40 — — — — — 2013–14 Quinnipiac University ECAC 34 13 16 29 46 — — — — — 2014–15 Rochester Americans AHL 63 5 3 8 70 — — — — — 2015–16 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Ontario Reign AHL 58 12 10 22 46 13 1 0 1 8 2016–17 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 4 3 3 6 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Florida Everblades ECHL 5 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2016–17 San Diego Gulls AHL 56 12 12 24 17 10 1 0 1 2 2017–18 San Diego Gulls AHL 18 1 1 2 18 — — — — — 2017–18 BK Mladá Boleslav ELH 4 0 1 1 10————— 2017–18 Augsburger Panther DEL63142————— 2018–19 KHL Medveščak Zagreb EBEL17291110————— 2018–19 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL26612181341232 2019–20 Worcester Railers ECHL3311182918————— 2019–20 Heilbronner Falken DEL251340————— AHL totals 195 28 28 56 151 23 2 0 2 10

Awards and honors Award Year College NCAA All-Tournament Team 2013