Steve Thomas during the 200 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Former Devils winger Steve Thomas could be on his way back to the NHL as a coach some day, but right now he is happy as an assistant coach with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL).
The Crunch, an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, are second in the AHL’s Eastern Conference and Thomas fits in well alongside head coach Jon Cooper.
“I’m a positive guy behind the bench,” Thomas said. “Guys have questions for me and I know the system pretty well. I can critique them or give them a pat on the back when they come off the ice. More than anything, I think I’m just more of a positive influence back there.”
During his 20-year NHL career, Thomas scored 421 goals while playing for six teams – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Islanders, Devils, Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings.
"I coached bantam minor midget when I retired," Thomas said. "I coached my son's team and I took a bit of a shine to it. I was coaching my own son and that gave me an opportunity to spend some time with him, whereas I didn't have that opportunity when I was playing.
“That was a good thing for me and that kind of got my feet wet and maybe got me interested in pursuing this. But I didn’t think I’d be on the bench as quickly as I was at the American League level. You get a little bit lucky every now and then.”
He became an assistant for Norfolk late last season, staying on as the Admirals won the Calder Cup.
“That was a big thrill for me, having played 20 years and not having won a Stanley Cup or any real significant hardware,” Thomas recalled.
When the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped Norfolk (now affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks) after winning the AHL title, Thomas and the coaching staff wound up in Syracuse.
Thomas, who was in the 1986 movie "Youngblood" with Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Keanue Reeves, joked of coaching in the minors: "I didn't get a casting call for another movie opportunity."
He is, in fact, still in the same league as son, Christian, who was the Rangers' second-round pick (40th overall) in the 2010 entry draft and is playing for Connecticut Whale. Thomas said the level of competition in the AHL has risen significantly with the influx of NHL players during the lockout. That will help Christian Thomas.
"He's playing in a league that is quite possibly the best in hockey right now," Thomas said. "For my own son to be playing with and against such talented players, it will only help his development. It's really good hockey."
Good for his own career as an assistant coach, as well.