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***KaleSalad*** · 05-25-2021, 11:07 AM

What a wild ride it has been to get here. When Nathan was taken in the 4th round 55th overall by Texas in the S55 draft it was a bit of a passive move that maybe he would one day find a place on the team. But shortly after the draft he was traded to a suddenly rebuilding San Francisco team. There he would start to find his stride and learn from the group there what it might take to make his mark in the SHL. After completing the next 3 seasons in the juniors Thomas made the jump to the Pride. It was a relatively smooth transition for the player as he was surrounded by familiar faces in Stromberg and Bjerg who also made the jump from Maine to San Fran. Knowing full well we were in a rebuild it was a bonus to be able to get more ice time and be put into the special teams right away. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I also can not stress enough how great the people in the Locker Room are. We have a very active core that has made things feel like home here right away. These past two seasons have been wonderful and have helped Thomas come out of his shell and become a better player and person on and off the ice. The Pride are a fantastic organization and I have nothing but the utmost respect for their management @Thatguy91 and “@AgentSmith630. Both have been fantastic leaders on and off the ice and have put together an amazing core group that will see them through this rebuild and become a contender in the near future.

So how did we get here? How did Thomas suddenly end up looking to potentially become a Free Agent this offseason? Well it was a perfect storm of events really. Being that the Pride were in the midst of a rebuild for the past couple of seasons they have loaded up on young talent and draft picks. This was how they were going to become competitive in the future. They didn’t have all the pieces they needed to do what every sensible team would do. Build through the draft and as things start getting better start moving pieces to get the right group of players. This can be done many ways through the draft and trading for young talent. But this also turned out to be a double edge sword. With the announcement of the 2 new expansion teams this put the Pride in a very difficult spot. With so many young talented players on the roster how could they ever protect them all? Short answer is you can’t. Having so many young and very active users on the site can only mean one thing. Someone has to be left unprotected. With having so many young promising athletes on the team it was no easy decision to make. With more up and coming rookies that will no doubt make their mark being auto protected in the draft this meant the rookies and sophomore players were the ones that looked at first. I do not envy the position that the GM’s were facing and I know it was no easy task to decide.

At the Trade deadline the Pride continued to grow and get better as a team and added a couple very highly sought after players. Marner and Oscarsson. Both immediately fit in with the team. Oscarsson must have felt like walking into a Maine reunion with so many of his former teammates there. Both were welcomed with open arms and both made some immediate impacts on the ice. This would make the protected list even harder to make. With even more talent on their board who would have to be left unprotected.

So with Thomas being in a contract year and the likes of a couple very strong defenseman coming up in the next two seasons it would be discussed with management that Nathan would not make the protected list and would be exposed for the upcoming draft. With not being on the protected list and so much uncertainty surrounding the draft Thomas and the Pride management decided it best to not sign a new contract and instead be able to have some freedom in his decision of what happens next in his career. Nathan may end up testing Free Agency. It is a crazy time to be part of the league. With so much change about to happen this offseason is sure to mix up a lot in the league. Whether it is the new teams in the conferences or just the faces we are used to seeing in jerseys suddenly moving to a new home it is a very exciting and nerve racking time as a player, though I am sure it is much worse for all the GM’s. Nathan thought he would stay a part of the Pride for his entire career, and he would still like to, to help finish the rebuild of this young and promising team to become a contender out of the West like Texas has been able to do and drive deep into the playoffs and compete for the Challenger Cup. But as many players learn this is also a business and sometimes things don’t work out the way you had hoped.

So with all this in mind I would like to break down a little about Nathan Thomas. As you read above he was a late 4th round pick and the 55th pick in the S55 draft. Nathan is a 6’2 right handed defenseman who is working on being an elite point shooter. He is trying to get better by getting more physical attributes up in order to compete at the top level of the SHL teams. He has worked extremely hard on his conditioning and his Stamina on the ice shows that. With the unfortunate departure in the first round of the playoffs Nathan is getting some extra time to continue to round out his defensive abilities and specifically work on his offensive and defensive reads on the ice. Of course being a younger player going into his Junior year he is still working on getting that shooting range better and finding the open spot on the ice. He is working hard to become an all around reliable player on the ice and is ready to step into a specialist on the powerplay and log some big minutes for a team. Though he is still young and may still have a few blunders he has made a mark over his first two seasons with the Pride. Thomas has accumulated the following:

S58: 66GP 5G 7A 12PTS with 17:45 ATOI
S59: 66GP 5G 21A 26PTS with 20:25 ATOI

The numbers don’t really jump off the page but the biggest note that should be taken is the vast improvement over 1 season. When given the opportunity Thomas seemed to rise to the challenge and was able to more than double his points in just his second season. There was no Sophomore slump for this up and comer. To get full details of what you would get with him here is a quick link to his page.

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=106297

Nathan would be a great addition to any team that is willing to give him a shot. He was all but forgotten about in a very deep S55 draft but when given his shot he made the most of it. He is quietly climbing the ranks of the S55 TPE earners and is committed to becoming the diamond in the rough that teams may have overlooked.

WC:1272

ml002 · 05-25-2021, 11:11 AM

:eyes:

Credit to Copenhagen, Wasty, FlappyGiraffe, InciteHysteria, and caltroit_red_flames
[Image: MM4nqx6.png]

LordBirdman · 05-25-2021, 11:16 AM

Thomas is a great teammate! pride

Henrik · 05-25-2021, 11:18 AM

One of the toughest decisions I've had to make so far as a GM. Couldn't ask for a better teammate! Absolute beauty.

***luke*** · 05-25-2021, 11:22 AM

Damn, what a late round pick. Congrats on your journey so far!

SewingWithNancy · 05-25-2021, 11:59 AM

Thomas now potentially can pair with Gatez again!!!! I see this as an absolute win, until you land on a different team than me

***AgentSmith630*** · 05-25-2021, 12:05 PM

All other GMs, please immediately leave this thread

Fluw · 05-25-2021, 12:36 PM

Naattthaaan

***Ohtaay*** · 05-25-2021, 12:57 PM

Nice write up man, best of luck and enjoy the experience!

ml002 · 05-25-2021, 01:06 PM

05-25-2021, 12:05 PMAgentSmith630 Wrote: All other GMs, please immediately leave this thread

Denied

Credit to Copenhagen, Wasty, FlappyGiraffe, InciteHysteria, and caltroit_red_flames
[Image: MM4nqx6.png]

***Gwdjohnson*** · 05-25-2021, 01:44 PM

whoever you sign with is getting a good one!

sulovilen · 05-25-2021, 01:47 PM

People, please stop bumping this thread.

**leafsftw1967** · 05-25-2021, 01:47 PM

It has been a pleasure getting to know you in the Pride locker room and believe that Thomas has the potential to be a super star on and off the ice! Keep up the great progress bud Cheers