"I looked up to him when he played, and I met him when I was younger, which is pretty cool, so for him to be my coach now is pretty cool," Akil Thomas
One thing everyone in hockey learns is that it's a small world after all. In the American Hockey League, the small world and the connections are amplified. The scouts in the stands are fan favorites from previous eras. The coaches are throwbacks as well. The players, media, fans, and everyone in a league known for turnover manage to bump into each other weeks and sometimes years later.
Akil Thomas is a journeyman veteran AHLer who spent most of his career in the Los Angeles Kings organization. He's hit his stride with the Springfield Thunderbirds this season with nine points in 20 games, and he's kicked things into another gear for the playoffs with four points in nine games, including the Game Two overtime winner.
He's particularly played his best hockey under Steve Ott, who took over the Thunderbirds midseason and has gotten the most out of veterans like Thomas. But for Thomas, there's a unique connection. "I looked up to him when he played, and I met him when I was younger, which is pretty cool, so for him to be my coach now is pretty cool," he stated after Game Two.
How Thomas & Ott Met
Thomas was born in Toronto and developed in the Ontario Hockey League. Yet, he wasn't raised in the province. He spent most of his childhood in the South of the United States, with his father, Khalil Thomas, bouncing around the AHL and other minor league teams in Jacksonville, Memphis, and Oklahoma City.
It sets the scene for Ott, who spent the first decade of his career with the Dallas Stars, to bump into Thomas. "My dad is pretty close with Trevor Daly, and in some tournaments in Dallas, Otter would come to my games, actually." Thomas, like a lot of kids in hockey families, played in the USA development leagues and programs, and Dallas was a prime spot for tournaments (it still is).
"So, I think I ran into him on the ice a couple of times," Thomas remembered. Fast forward to 2026, and the two are keeping a remarkable run for the Thunderbirds going with the team in the Atlantic Division Final in the middle of the series tied up at one, thanks to his overtime-winning goal.
The Bigger Story Behind Thomas & Ott Meeting Up
This story of a kid meeting a player who would end up being his coach is cool and touching. It's one of those full-circle moments and one that makes hockey special. When children meet the players they admire, they grow up hoping to play like them in the NHL. It's how many of the talented players in the game today grew up.
Thomas didn't grow up in Toronto, and it speaks to the success and gravity that USA hockey has had. He had to move around and spend many years in the South. Years ago, that meant his hockey career wouldn't take off because there was no ice, no rinks, and no leagues in the South.
Yet, Thomas could keep playing and developing in Dallas and throughout the South. He's not the only one, either, something the USA Olympic team proved. The growth of hockey in the South helped develop Auston Matthews, Tage Thompson, and a handful of players who are the best in the NHL. Thomas might be a small part of that story, yet it speaks to the reach of the league and the ability that players in those regions, like Ott, could impact the lives of future players, even players who would go on to score game-winning goals for them someday.