Tommy Novak

Thomas Novak (born April 28, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted with the 85th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2015 NHL entry draft.

Early life Novak was born on April 28, 1997, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to John and Patti Novak. Although he was born in Minnesota, Novak was raised in River Falls, Wisconsin.

Playing career Novak (left) battling for the puck against Ryker Evans of the Seattle Kraken in 2024. After three years of high school hockey at Saint Thomas Academy, Novak joined the Waterloo Black Hawks for the 2014–15 USHL season. Novak's outstanding play with the Black Hawks was rewarded when he was invited to skate in the 2014 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game. In June 2015, Novak was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2015 NHL entry draft.

Novak played college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers from 2015 to 2019.

After his college career, he signed with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) on March 20, 2019.

Novak was named AHL Rookie of the Month for November 2019.

He signed an entry-level contract with Nashville on March 25, 2020, and played in his first NHL game on October 19, 2021. On December 17, 2021, Novak scored his first NHL goal, against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-André Fleury in a 3–2 Nashville win.

In July 2022, Novak re-signed with Nashville on a one-year contract. On February 8, 2023, he signed a new one-year contract with Nashville. Novak finished the 2022–23 NHL season with 17 goals.

On November 14, 2023, Novak was placed on injured reserve with an upperbody injury. On March 4, 2024, the Predators re-signed Novak to a three-year, $10.5 million contract.

On March 5, 2025, Novak was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, alongside Luke Schenn, for Michael Bunting and a fourth round draft pick. In his second game with Pittsburgh, he suffered a stress fracture in his leg, and missed the remainder of the 2024–25 NHL season.

Novak returned in the 2025-26 season, playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career, scoring 42 points.

On July 31, 2026, Novak signed a three-year contract with the Penguins.

International play Novak helped lead the United States national under-18 team to a bronze medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, and he recorded seven points in four games as a member of the United States national junior team at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2011–12 St. Thomas Academy USHS 25 14 20 34 0 6 4 5 9 2 2012–13 St. Thomas Academy USHS 25 25 22 47 6 6 3 7 10 0 2013–14 St. Thomas Academy USHS 25 26 44 70 8 3 4 4 8 2 2013–14 U.S. National Development Team USHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 46 14 34 48 12 — — — — — 2015–16 U. of Minnesota B1G 37 6 21 27 4 — — — — — 2016–17 U. of Minnesota B1G 20 5 9 14 10 — — — — — 2017–18 U. of Minnesota B1G 34 3 23 26 8 — — — — — 2018–19 U. of Minnesota B1G 38 4 17 21 4 — — — — — 2018–19 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2019–20 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 60 11 31 42 18 — — — — — 2020–21 Florida Everblades ECHL 3 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 2020–21 Chicago Wolves AHL 27 8 24 32 4 — — — — — 2021–22 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 42 7 27 34 16 6 1 5 6 2 2021–22 Nashville Predators NHL 27 1 6 7 2 — — — — — 2022–23 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 25 11 15 26 2 — — — — — 2022–23 Nashville Predators NHL 51 17 26 43 8 — — — — — 2023–24 Nashville Predators NHL 71 18 27 45 8 6 0 0 0 0 2024–25 Nashville Predators NHL 52 13 9 22 4 — — — — — 2024–25 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2025–26 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 82 16 26 42 24 6 0 2 2 0NHL totals 285 65 94 159 46 12 0 2 2 0

International

Awards and honors Award Year RefUSHL CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game 2014 All-Rookie Second Team 2015