Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thomas ‘Up There with the Best
Tim Thomas’s path to NHL supremacy has spanned nearly two decades and many miles since his time at the University of Vermont, but it’s still easily to trace the roots of his success back to Burlington.
As the Bruins goaltender claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs, his unorthodox style was still recognizable to those who saw him play for the Catamounts from 1993-97. He lunged at shooters, dove for pucks and contorted his body to make saves.
And he made more of them than any other goaltender in Stanley Cup Final history.
Thomas became the fifth former college hockey player to win the Conn Smythe and the second in as many years, after Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) led Chicago to the title last season. Thomas joins the likes of Ken Dryden, Ed Belfour, Mike Richter, Frank McCool and Frank Brimsek as former college goaltenders who went on to lead their NHL teams to Stanley Cups.
Thomas, St. Lawrence alum Rich Peverley and former Harvard players in the front office Peter Chiarelli, Don Sweeney and John Weisbrod will all have their names etched on the Stanley Cup.
Despite the trials he’s faced and mileage he’s logged since his time at Gutterson Field House, Thomas traces a lot of his success to those storied Vermont teams of the mid-1990s.
“The transition to college was more mental than physical,” Thomas has said. “My time at UVM taught me that I had to perform at a high level every night if I wanted to be successful. It also instilled in me the confidence that I could play at hockey’s highest level.
“That was my first time away from home,” he added, indeed the first time East of Niagara Falls for the Flint, Mich., native. “All of a sudden there are no curfews and mom and dad aren’t setting the rules for you. College was a big step.”
Thursday, as the Bruins returned to Boston with the Stanley Cup, their goaltender had completed what some were calling the best season in history at the position. Next week he will likely claim his second Vezina Trophy in the past three years.
“I’ve got to tell you,” Cam Neely told the Boston Globe. “He’s got to be up there with the best I’ve ever seen. He elevated his game, especially in the Stanley Cup. He was so calm and composed. He took it to another level, and it was really fun to watch him play.”
It’s only mildly surprising to those in Vermont and around college hockey who saw Thomas backstop those Catamount teams more well known for the offensive heroics of Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin. Those two have already won the Stanley Cup – and when Thomas and the Bruins beat out St. Louis in the Eastern Conference final, the diminutive forward told his old goalie to go win one himself.
Thomas did that, and added to his legacy. Ted Ryan, who covered Thomas’s Vermont teams, wrote the following in Thursday’s Burlington Free Press:
“Thomas is no longer just a Catamount legend. Now he’s a legend in the pantheon of Boston Bruins heroes.”