Reginald Kenneth Thomas (born April 21, 1953) is a Canadian 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 who played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) from 1973 to 1979, and in the

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 ...

from 1979 to 1980.

Career

After a standout junior career with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

, in which he scored 309 points in only three seasons, he was drafted by both the

Los Angeles Sharks The Los Angeles Sharks were an ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1974. Their primary home arena was the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena but they sometimes played at the Long Beach Sports Arena when t ...

of the WHA and the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

of the

(NHL). Thomas played seven seasons in the WHA for the Sharks, Michigan Stags, Baltimore Blades,

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square ...

, and

Cincinnati Stingers The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are th ...

. After the dissolution of the WHA he played 39 NHL games for the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

in the NHL, and ultimately retired from hockey in 1985 after a spell in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

for WAT Stadlau. After his career Thomas ran a farm and produce market just outside Lambeth, Ontario.

Personal life

His son, Reg Thomas, Jr., played hockey as well, for the

Sarnia Sting The Sarnia Sting are a junior ice hockey team based in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the 20 teams that make up the Ontario Hockey League. They play out of the Progressive Auto Sales Arena (formerly the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment ...

and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Thomas has another son named Dylan, who was drafted by the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...

of the OHL and his youngest son, Blake Thomas also played for the Sarnia Sting.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

* 1953 births Living people Baltimore Blades players Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Cincinnati Stingers players Cincinnati Tigers players Indianapolis Racers players London Knights players Los Angeles Sharks draft picks Los Angeles Sharks players Michigan Stags players Montana Magic players New Brunswick Hawks players Nova Scotia Voyageurs players Ice hockey people from London, Ontario Quebec Nordiques players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen St. Catharines Saints players WAT Stadlau players World Hockey Association first round draft picks {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1950s-stub