Young hockey star breaks new ice

Port Washington High School sophomore Carson Thomas has been chosen to play with a triple-A hockey team that could someday lead to a college career

CARSON THOMAS HAS been chosen to play with the U16 AAA Wisconsin Windago Prospect hockey team. The Port Washington High School sophomore will play in his first tournament in Minnesota this weekend. Photo by Hunter Simon
By 
MITCH MAERSCH
Ozaukee Press staff

PORT WASHINGTON — There aren’t many Port Washington High School students who play hockey, but what’s lacking in quantity is made up for with quality.

Sophomore Carson Thomas has been selected to play for the U16 AAA Wisconsin Windago Prospect hockey team that plays in the North American Hockey League.

A two-day tryout in Eagle River entailed practice, drills and a scrimmage against some of the top players from the Upper Midwest.

Thomas, a center who has been playing with the Fox River Phoenix, took his opportunity and skated with it.

“I could show my speed to the coaches,” he said.

Thomas scored two goals and had two assists in the scrimmage. Despite his success, he didn’t know if that was good enough to be chosen. Players were told they would be notified within 24 hours.

He got the email at 5 p.m. Thomas made the cut.

“It was a good feeling. I knew it was a good team,” he said.

This process, his father Dan said, is the path to be recruited by colleges.

Hockey is a different animal than other prep sports. Playing for a high school and playing club isn’t enough to catch scouts’ eyes. Players chosen for AAA teams like Wisconsin Windago and similar tournament teams are the ones who get noticed.

“This is to get into the system,” Dan said. “It’s a huge step to take it to the next level.”

One caveat is that practices are in Eagle River at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Sundays. It’s a four-hour drive one way.

Many players are from Michigan and come from much farther away, Dan said.

Thomas is used to traveling, both for hockey and for his father’s job. Dan is a retired warrant officer with the U.S. Army who has served seven deployments overseas. The family lived in Austin, Texas, when Carson was young, then in Fort Drum, N.Y., north of Syracuse. Carson got to play at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid where the famed 1980 U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union.

“It was interesting. I got to see the locker room they stayed in and play on the ice they played on,” he said.

His commitment to the sport and his commutes to hockey tournaments across state lines call for time management skills.

“I get home and I go straight to homework,” Carson said, “and sometimes I do it in the car.”

Thomas played for the West Bend Ice Bears co-op team and scored 10 points this season. He has been playing hockey for eight years.

His cousin in Indianapolis, who he sees twice a year, got him into the sport. The two skate together and watch games. Carson’s favorite player is Sidney Crosby.

“I liked the fighting,” Thomas said. “It just seemed like an intense fun game to play.”

Thomas tried baseball, but his father said he got bored playing outfield.

Thomas started hockey as a wing but last year was moved to center. He’s in charge of the face-offs and can play below the net and pick up the puck and get momentum going for the offense.

He likes racking up assists better than scoring goals.

“I’d rather set it up,” he said. “I just like being in the action, helping the defense. I utilize my speed.”

Sometimes, practice can be done at home without ice. Carson is supposed to walk the family’s 3-year old golden lab Maverick, but he occasionally finds an alternative activity.

“He tries getting (the puck). I just play keep away with him,” Carson said.

Carson will play in his first three-game round-robin tournament with Wisconsin Windago this weekend in Blaine, Minn.

Being a member of Wisconsin Windago can open doors to tryouts for other tournament teams. Down the line, a scholarship might be possible.

Carson wants to attend the University of North Dakota, a hockey powerhouse.

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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

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