Thomas Bathory, defenseman for AIK


With Season 45 in full swing, news out of Stockholm is that Hungarian defenseman Thomas Bathory is close to finalizing a decision that will see him cross the Atlantic, and declare as a SMJHL free agent. Bathory is a two-way defenseman who has been playing for AIK in the HockeyAllsvenskan League in Sweden. In 18 games this season, Bathory has been one of AIK's top defenseman and is scoring at near a point per game pace. It's been understood that Bathory will eventually be crossing the pond, but AIK can't be too thrilled about losing such a key player during the middle of the season.  

Bathory is said to be leaning towards testing free agency after the SMJHL trade deadline to preserve a season of eligibility. Doing so will make Thomas one of the first prospects to declare for the Season 47 SHL draft. If Bathory does in fact sign with a SMJHL team after the trade deadline, he will only be doing so for the remainder of this season, before becoming eligible for the Season 46 SMJHL Entry Draft. While some people may view signing before the trade deadline as an advantage being that Thomas would be able to hand-pick where he would be playing hockey during the next stage of his development, Thomas is said to be fine with entering the SMJHL draft and playing for any of the SMJHL's franchises. Bathory is looking to establish himself as one of the drafts top talents and feels that whoever invests a draft pick in him deserves an excellent return on their investment for showing that they have faith in Bathory being a key player for their organization. While he may be a step behind the current SMJHL rookie crop, Bathory hopes that he will be able to sign as a free agent with a team that can provide a decent role for him heading into the post-season. Every SMJHL team makes the playoffs this season so it may come down to whether or not Thomas feels that he can contribute to a teams chances. Thomas will also look to join a team with a positive culture that he feels he can contribute too and fit in well with.

It looks like we're only a couple of weeks from Bathory joining the SMJHL. Whether or not Bathory will make an impact this season remains to be seen. This is definitely a story worth following.