Paul Thompson (ice hockey, born 1988)

Paul Thompson
Born	November 30, 1988 Derry, NH, USA
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	New Jersey Devils
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2011–present

Paul Thompson (born November 30, 1988) is an American ice hockey forward who is currently playing within the New Jersey Devils organization of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the 2010–11 he was the Hockey East player of the year, led the Hockey East in scoring, and led the nation in power play goals while playing with the University of New Hampshire.^[1]

Playing career

Born in Derry, New Hampshire, Thompson began playing hockey at age five.^[2] He became a fan of the UNH hockey team while his elder cousin, Mike Souza, played on the team.^[3] He later attended Pinkerton Academy where he played hockey his freshman and sophomore year. While at Pinkerton he also played Baseball and Football.^[2] The next two years he played for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.^[4] After scoring fifty one goals in fifty games in the 2006–07 season, Thompson was named the EJHL Offensive Player of the Year.^[5] In 2007 he was ranked seventy second among North American hockey players by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was the highest ranked North American player to not be selected in the NHL Entry Draft that year.^[6]

He then attended the University of New Hampshire where he is a Health Management major.^[7] Thompson scored his first college hat trick on November 17, 2007 in a game against Providence College.^[2][8] In the 2009–10 season he scored thirty nine points, second on the team to Bobby Butler.^[5] Thompson is now the highest scoring New Hampshire native on the UNH ice hockey team in the past thirty years.^[9] He is a finalist for the 2011 Hobey Baker Award.^[1]

In March 2011 he signed a two year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.^[10] He then began playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

On February 6, 2014, Thompson was traded by the Penguins to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Spencer Machacek.^[11]

As a free agent in the off-season, Thompson signed a one-year AHL contract with the Albany Devils. Prior to the 2014–15 season, he attended NHL parent club, the New Jersey Devils training camp.^[12]

On July 1, 2015, Thompson signed a two-year, two-way free agent contract with the New Jersey Devils.^[13]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	U. of New Hampshire	HE		35	6	6	12	22		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	U. of New Hampshire	HE		27	4	5	9	22		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	U. of New Hampshire	HE		39	19	20	39	24		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	U. of New Hampshire	HE		39	28	24	52	32		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		6	1	2	3	2		4	0	1	1	2
2011–12	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		67	10	15	25	37		12	2	1	3	2
2011–12	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL		1	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		58	20	9	29	84		15	3	3	6	21
2013–14	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		39	4	3	7	50		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Springfield Falcons	AHL		30	4	4	8	50		5	0	0	0	5
2014–15	Albany Devils	AHL		73	33	22	55	67		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				273	72	55	127	290		36	5	5	10	30

Awards and honours

Award	Year
College
All-Hockey East First Team	2010–11	[14]
AHCA East First-Team All-American	2010–11

References

1. "Paul Thompson Wins Hockey East Player of the Year". WMUR. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
2. Rose, Lauren (13 November 2008). "No sophomore jinx for Paul Thompson". Derry News (Derry, NH). Retrieved 3 February 2011.
3. Lessels, Allen (March 25, 2011). "Local boy makes good". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
4. Pike, Al (March 24, 2011). "N.H. native Thompson has dream career with Wildcats". Seacoastonline.com. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
5. Labor, Anthony (22 November 2010). "Hometown hero: UNH senior Thompson thriving". Seacoastonline.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
6. McMahon, Mike (13 December 2010). "Thompson follows cousin to UNH, paves his own path". The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, MA). Retrieved 3 February 2011.
7. Merritt, Andrew (24 February 2011). "New Hampshire boasts punch line". New England Hockey Journal. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
8. "Friars fall to Wildcats in overtime". The Providence Journal. 18 November 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
9. Lessels, Allen (31 January 2011). "Allen Lessels' UNH Notebook: Maine event set". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
10. "Thompson signs with Penguins". USA Today. Associated Press. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
11. "Penguins trade Thompson to Blue Jackets for Machacek". The Sports Network. 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
12. "Defenseman Eric Gelinas re-signs with Devils". FireandIce.com. 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
13. "Thompson inks two-year, two-way contract". New Jersey Devils. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
14. "Hockey East First-Team All-Stars". hockeyeastonline.com. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-04-01.

External links

• Paul Thompson's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Paul Thompson for Hobey Baker website