A deal fit for a King
Akil Thomas turned on his cell phone Saturday night in Barrie following the Niagara IceDogs 7-4 win over the Colts to find out the cat had been let out of the bag.
The 19-year-old centre had inked an entry-level deal with the Los Angeles Kings a few days prior but had to keep it to himself until the announcement was made official.
“I grabbed my phone and had like 300 messages, so it was pretty cool,” Thomas said with a smile, before hitting the ice for practice Tuesday.
“I knew they were talking and my agent sent me the contract. It was pretty cool opening up the e-mail. I didn’t have to think about it too much. I told my parents, but couldn’t really tell anyone.”
Thomas, who was selected by the Kings in the second round (51st overall) in the 2018 National Hockey League draft, admitted getting the deal signed was a weight off his shoulders.
“I know playing out there if I make a mistake I won’t get so down on myself,” he said. “It was on my mind throughout the whole season. It was a goal of mine. I wanted to get 100 points, that was a goal of mine too.
“It’s a new season now. I feel a lot more relieved and more confident.”
IceDogs coach Billy Burke is thrilled for Thomas.
“We’re very proud of him. He got an opportunity as a 16-year-old not a lot of guys get but he earned it, he excelled,” Burke said. “He’s just a fantastic guy and we couldn’t be more thrilled for him.
“We were all disappointed in Dallas. We all felt he should have been a first-rounder, but he proved he is a first-round talent.”
Thomas, selected by the IceDogs in the first round of the (12th overall) 2016 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection, has put together a prolific career in his four seasons in Niagara. His point totals have increased each season and this year he hit the 100-point mark while also leading the team with a plus-42.
“He’s not one of those guys who came in at 16 and that’s what they are,” Burke said. “He’s gotten better every year to the point now where he’s a top PK, top power play and takes pride in defence. He really is a well-rounded, dominant player in this league.”
Thomas smiles when asked about all his good fortune this season.
“It’s a dream come true. My first year was tough in terms of being not a great team and a young team and not experienced. We all knew we were working towards this year.
“It’s really cool we are here and it’s out time to prove it. We’ve been looking forward to it for a while.”
Thomas said he doesn’t plan anything extravagant to celebrate his new deal.
“I’ve been fine just the way I have been doing things,” he said. “Maybe it allows me to run my clothing company https://zaleapparel.com a little easier. It was tough. With any company you start, you need money. It was tough at first. But I liked it was tough. It taught me a lot of things about life and business.
“It was cool to kind of grind it out the last couple of years.”
The IceDogs host the North Bay Battalion Thursday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series. Game 2 is Saturday in St. Catharines before the series shifts to North Bay next week for Games 3 and 4.
Burke indicated injured forwards Kirill Maksimov and Kyen Sopa would both be game-time decisions.
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