Thomas was drafted in the third round, 56th overall, by the
Buffalo Sabres in the
1989 NHL entry draft. He played 39 games with the Sabres over two seasons,
1992–93 and
1993–94. Thomas then spent several seasons playing in the
International Hockey League. He returned to the
National Hockey League late in his career, appearing in 24 games with the
Los Angeles Kings in
2000–01. Thomas scored the first goal of the "Stunner at Staples" play-off game in which Los Angeles rallied to beat the
Detroit Red Wings after being down 3-0 with 6:07 remaining in the game. The Kings would eventually win the series in six games. He finished his career as a member of the
American Hockey League's
Cleveland Barons in the
2002–03 season. Thomas and
Peter Ciavaglia had been the only two Buffalo-area natives to play for the Buffalo Sabres until
Patrick Kaleta made his debut as a Sabre during the
2006–07 season.
Tim Kennedy also played for his home town Buffalo Sabres. ==Career statistics==