Scott Thomas

John Scott Thomas (born January 18, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey right wing. He played 63 games in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings between 1992 and 2001. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1992 to 2003, was spent in the minor leagues.

Early life Thomas was born in Buffalo, New York. He played in the 1983 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Buffalo.

Career Thomas was drafted in the third round, 56th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1989 NHL entry draft. He played 39 games with the Sabres over two seasons, 1992–93 and 1993–94.

Thomas then spent several seasons playing in the International Hockey League. He returned to the National Hockey League late in his career, appearing in 24 games with the Los Angeles Kings in 2000–01. Thomas scored the first goal of the "Stunner at Staples" play-off game in which Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings after being down 3-0 with 6:07 remaining in the game. The Kings would eventually win the series in six games.

He finished his career as a member of the American Hockey League's Cleveland Barons in the 2002–03 season.

Thomas and Peter Ciavaglia had been the only two Buffalo-area natives to play for the Buffalo Sabres until Patrick Kaleta made his debut as a Sabre during the 2006–07 season. Tim Kennedy also played for his home town Buffalo Sabres.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1987–88 Nicols Schools CIASAA 16 23 39 62 62 — — — — — 1988–89 Nicols Schools CIASAA 17 38 52 90 — — — — — — 1989–90 Clarkson University ECAC 34 19 13 32 95 — — — — — 1990–91 Clarkson University ECAC 40 28 14 42 89 — — — — — 1991–92 Clarkson University ECAC 30 25 21 46 57 — — — — — 1991–92 Rochester Americans AHL — — — — — 9 0 1 1 17 1992–93 Buffalo Sabres NHL 7 1 1 2 15 — — — — — 1992–93 Rochester Americans AHL 65 32 27 59 38 17 8 5 13 6 1993–94 Buffalo Sabres NHL 32 2 2 4 8 — — — — — 1993–94 Rochester Americans AHL 11 4 5 9 0 — — — — — 1994–95 Rochester Americans AHL 55 21 25 46 115 5 4 0 4 4 1995–96 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 78 32 28 60 54 17 13 2 15 4 1996–97 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 71 32 29 61 46 3 0 0 0 0 1997–98 Detroit Vipers IHL 44 11 16 27 18 — — — — — 1997–98 Manitoba Moose IHL 26 12 4 16 8 3 0 1 1 2 1998–99 Manitoba Moose IHL 78 45 25 70 32 5 3 4 7 4 1999–00 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 52 15 16 31 18 6 2 1 3 6 2000–01 Los Angeles Kings NHL 24 3 1 4 9 12 1 0 1 4 2000–01 Manitoba Moose IHL 22 9 14 23 21 3 1 2 3 0 2001–02 Manchester Monarchs AHL 56 14 29 43 6 5 1 0 1 4 2002–03 Cleveland Barons AHL 23 7 3 10 6 — — — — — IHL totals 371 156 132 288 197 37 19 10 29 16 NHL totals 63 6 4 10 32 12 1 0 1 4

Awards and honors Award Year All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 1989–90 ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 1991