Even for non-hockey fans, Tim Thomas is the ultimate story of perseverance. Here's a guy that was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques (remember them?) in 1994. Other than a few spot appearances due to the top goalies' injuries, he wallowed in the minors for eight seasons. Expecting that his shot at the NHL was most likely come and gone, he signed with a team in the Finish Elite league in 2004. After one season there, he was signed as a free agent by the Boston Bruins in 2005, only to be assigned back to the minors. It was not until January 2006 (at the ripe old rookie age of 32), that he finally got called up to the NHL, and earned himself a full-time job. In only his second full season in the NHL, he was selected to the all-star game. At the end of his third full season, he was awarded the Vezina Trophy (given out to the league's most outstanding goaltender).
Which brings us to today. At the age of 36, after seven games played, he is 7-0 and has only allowed five goals in total. He leads the league in shutouts, save percentage, and goals against average. In the only other major goalie category, he is second in wins with seven. The season is young, but at this stage of the game, it would be very hard to argue that anyone other than Tim Thomas is the top goaltender in the league. All this from a guy with an extremely awkward playing style, that had to wait twelve years between getting drafted, and getting a full time gig at 32. No wonder there's still a bunch of thirty-somethings out there that still haven't given up their dreams of making it to the bigs. It's been done before. Play on Tim, play on.
Just wait till you see who gets the thumbs down...
Stay tuned.
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