Golden Dog
Bulldogs get proven winner in world junior champ Robert Thomas
It took some time, but the Hamilton Bulldogs have their man.
The team acquired freshly minted world junior champion Robert Thomas from the London Knights Monday, in exchange for promising rookie Connor McMichael and five future high-round draft picks — a second in 2021, conditional seconds in ’20, ’25, ’26 and a conditional third in ’22.
Thomas is expected to be in Hamilton Wednesday and will make his debut with the Bulldogs Friday back in London.
Thomas, 18, is a smart and speedy two-way centre with some eye-catching statistics. He starts the week tied for 16th in league scoring, with 20 goals and 26 assists in only 27 outings. His 1.7 points-per-game tally is the second-highest in the OHL.
At 26 per cent, he also has the second-best shooting percentage in the loop; while his 62 per cent success rate in the faceoff circle is almost unparalleled.
“He’s the total package,” said general manager Steve Staios. And he’s a proven winner. On top of last week’s run at the world junior championship, where he registered a goal and five assists in seven games, the sixfoot-one, 194-pound St. Louis Blues prospect has a Memorial Cup, an OHL title, a gold medal from the world under-17 hockey challenge and two OMHA championships under his belt.
He’s also the first NHL firstrounder and the first member of Canada’s national junior team to appear on the Bulldogs roster.
Even though there was other high-end talent available, Staios said Thomas was the one player he targeted and “really the only player” he would consider moving McMichael for. But the deal required patience and it didn’t come tied up in a bow.
After rumblings of the trade surfaced online last week, it took days to make it official. The reason was a no-trade clause, which Thomas wanted the weekend to think about.
The fact that the Aurora native took some time to mull over the decision tells Staios he’s an “incredibly caring” and “thoughtful guy.” He also said notrade clauses are in place for a reason and it is important for players “to sit down with their families and think about what’s to come.”
John Gruden, meanwhile, said it made him respect his newest player as a person.
“I like the way he thought about it,” added the Bulldogs head coach. “I like that he’s upfront and honest and that he wants to come here for the right reasons. We’re excited to have him.”
The move is arguably the biggest in franchise history and yet another sign Staios has his sights set on a deep playoff run this season, even if it means sacrificing future talent. Between this and previous deals — he also acquired forwards Nick Caamano and Ryan Moore from Flint, Riley Stillman from Oshawa and Kade Landry from
Barrie — he has given up seven future second round picks, five thirds, two fourths and his two most recent first-round selections in McMichael and Connor Roberts. And he may not be done yet. On Sunday, he said he is willing to entertain “anything that makes sense” in the lead up to Wednesday’s OHL trade deadline, including a forward, a defenceman or some combination of the two. The only thing he is not shopping for is a goaltender — he already has one of the better ones in the league in 19year-old Kaden Fulcher.
Thomas is far from the only bigname player swapped in recent days. Kingston also added Max Jones and Cliff Pu from London and Gabe Vilardi and Sean Day from Windsor; while Sarnia picked up Cam Dineen from North Bay and Jonathan Ang from Peterborough. Erie sent Taylor Raddysh and Jordan Sambrook to Sault Ste. Marie; and Kitchener gained Givani Smith from Guelph, along with Logan Brown and Austin McEneny, a Waterdown native, from the Spitfires.
As a player born in 1999, Thomas, who captained the Knights, could return to Hamilton for as many as two more seasons if he doesn’t stick with the Blues (he signed an entrylevel contract with the NHL club in the fall).
But there’s reason to believe he will be in St. Louis next September.
In mid-December, Blues player development director Tim Taylor told Sportsnet Thomas has “a real good chance of making our team next year.” Staios also said he does not expect to get him back.
If he does graduate to the NHL, the Bulldogs will retain their second round selections in 2025 and ’26 as part of the deal.
Both picks are contingent on Thomas coming back to the OHL for the ’18-19 campaign.