Jordan Blaine Samuels-Thomas (born May 28, 1990) is an American

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

referee and former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He was selected by the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

in the seventh round (203rd overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He made his officiating debut during the

2021–22 NHL season The 2021–22 NHL season was the 105th season of operation (104th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Seattle Kraken. The league had an October-to-April regular season sch ...

and has refereed 55 regular season games . He wears uniform number 42.

Early life

Samuels-Thomas was born in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

. He played junior hockey with the

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under Head Coach Matt Smaby. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa. History ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) before attending

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

to play the 2009–10 and

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

seasons with the

Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

. He then transferred to

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

, where he played the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and 2013–14 seasons with the

Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey The Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I college ice hockey program that represents Quinnipiac University. The Bobcats are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at ...

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 The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

traded his NHL rights to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

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 An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entr ...

. The Sabres chose not to retain his rights after that season. On September 24, 2015, Samuels-Thomas was signed by the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

. He was briefly assigned to the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 ECHL season, 2015–16 season. Bas ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

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 Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

(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 The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, DEL. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburge ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called Penny (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...

on January 25, 2018. As a free agent from the Panthers in the off-season, Samuels-Thomas moved to the neighboring

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria. It c ...

, agreeing to a one-year deal with Croatian-based

KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL Medveščak Admiral (), also known as KHL Medveščak Zagreb, is a Croatian professional ice hockey team based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the Medveščak area in centra ...

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 The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

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 The Worcester Railers (also called Worcester Railers HC) are a professional ice hockey team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team began play in the 2017–18 ECHL season, and is a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of t ...

. 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 DEL2 (also known as Deutsche Eishockey Liga 2 or DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Se ...

club, Heilbronner Falken on February 3, 2020.

Officiating career

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 The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

and

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

. 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 African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

official, as Sharrers and Alphonso are

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

. The game’s other officials were referee

Eric Furlatt Eric Furlatt (born December 2, 1971) is a National Hockey League Official (ice hockey), referee, wearing number 27. He made his debut during the 2001–02 NHL season. , Furlatt has officiated 1,464 regular season games and 180 playoff games, ...

, and linesmen Alphonso and Ryan Galloway.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels-Thomas, Jordan 1990 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American ice hockey players American expatriate ice hockey players in Croatia American expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate ice hockey players in Germany American ice hockey officials American men's ice hockey left wingers Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Augsburger Panther players BK Mladá Boleslav players Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey players Florida Everblades players Heilbronner Falken players Ice hockey players from Connecticut KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) players National Hockey League officials Ontario Reign (AHL) players Sportspeople from West Hartford, Connecticut Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey players Rochester Americans players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players South Carolina Stingrays players Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) players Waterloo Black Hawks players Worcester Railers players

Early life

Professional playing career

Officiating career

Career statistics

Awards and honors

See also

Notes

References

External links