Jordan Samuels-Thomas
Jordan Samuels-Thomas is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for Heilbronner Falken in the DEL2. He was previously selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 7th round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.Playing career
Samuels-Thomas played junior hockey with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League before attending Bowling Green State University to play the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons with the Bowling Green Falcons. He then transferred to Quinnipiac University where he played the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons with the Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team. During his four years of college hockey Samuels-Thomas played 148 games, registering 50 goals, 54 assists, and 162 penalty minutes.
On July 9, 2014, the Winnipeg Jets traded his NHL rights to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and three days later, on July 12, 2014, the Buffalo Sabres signed him to a one-year, entry-level contract. The Sabres chose not to retain his rights after that season.
On September 24, 2015, Samuels-Thomas was signed by the Ontario Reign. He was briefly assigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL at the beginning of the season, but then was recalled back to the Reign.
On December 30, 2017, while in the midst of his second season with the Gulls, Samuels-Thomas was released from his AHL contract after appearing in 18 games for just 2 points. On January 3, 2018, he signed his first contract abroad with Mladá Boleslav of the Czech Extraliga until the end of the 2017–18 season. After just four games with them Samuels-Thomas switched teams again and signed with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on January 25, 2018.
As a free agent from the Panthers in the off-season, Samuels-Thomas moved to the neighbouring Austrian Hockey League, agreeing to a one-year deal with Croatian-based, KHL Medveščak Zagreb, on August 1, 2018. In the 2018–19 season, Samuels-Thomas contributed with 11 points through 17 games before opting to leave the club mid-season. On January 18, 2019, having returned to North America, he signed an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears for the remainder of the season and was immediately assigned to ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays.
On September 29, 2019, approaching the 2019–20 season, Samuels-Thomas agreed to continue his career in the ECHL, signing with the Worcester Railers. He registered 11 goals and 29 points in 33 games with the Railers, before leaving the club to return to Europe for the remainder of the season, agreeing to a contract with German DEL2 club, Heilbronner Falken on February 3, 2020.Career statistics
Awards and honors