Thomas Novak (born April 28, 1997) is an American 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 ...

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for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

of 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 ...

(NHL). He was drafted with the 85th overall pick by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

in the third round of the 2015 NHL entry draft.

Early life

Novak was born on April 28, 1997, in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, to John and Pat Novak. Although he was born in Minnesota, Novak was raised in

River Falls, Wisconsin River Falls is a city in Pierce and St. Croix counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is located mostly within the town of River Falls, and adjacent to the town of Kinnickinnic in St. Croix County. River Falls is the most populous city ...

Playing career

After three years of high school hockey at

Saint Thomas Academy Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is an all-male, Catholic military high school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The academy has a middle school (gr ...

, Novak joined 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 ...

for the

2014–15 USHL season The 2014–15 USHL season is the 36th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season ran from September 26, 2014, to April 11, 2015. The regular season champion Youngstown Phantoms were awarded the Anderson C ...

. 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 The Chipotle All-American Game (formerly the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game and BioSteel All-American Game) is an annual ice hockey event in which 40 of the top American-born NHL entry draft eligible prospects play against each other in ...

. In June 2015, Novak was drafted by the

in the third round of the 2015 NHL entry draft. Novak played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

from 2015 to 2019. After his college career, he signed with the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) on March 20, 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 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 ...

goaltender

Marc-André Fleury Marc-André Fleury (; born November 28, 1984) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL entry draft, Fleury p ...

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 The 2022–23 NHL season was the 106th season of operation (105th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on October 7, 2022, when the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators played the first of two game ...

with 17 goals. On November 14, 2023, Novak was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He returned to the line-up on December 7 after missing 11 games. 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

, alongside

Luke Schenn Luke Schenn (born November 2, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Schenn played junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL). In his final ...

, in exchange for Michael Bunting and a fourth-round draft pick.

International play

Novak helped lead the United States national under-18 team to a bronze medal at the

2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament The 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was an under-18 international ice hockey tournament held in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Piešťany, Slovakia, from August 11 to 16, 2014. It was the 11th time this tournament has been held in those two cit ...

, 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

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Tommy 1997 births Living people Chicago Wolves players Florida Everblades players Ice hockey players from Wisconsin Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators draft picks Nashville Predators players Pittsburgh Penguins players People from River Falls, Wisconsin Sportspeople from St. Croix County, Wisconsin USA Hockey National Team Development Program players Waterloo Black Hawks players