Photo: CHL Bulldogs

We continue our 2024 annual prospect review and forecast series with Patrick Thomas, center for the Brandford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page or right here.)

VITALS

The Washington Capitals selected Thomas from the OHL’s Brandford Bulldogs in the 4th round (104th overall pick) of the 2023 NHL Draft. Thomas, who turned 19 in August, is listed at 6’0″ and 172 pounds. He remains unsigned by the Capitals.

CAREER SUMMARY

Thomas has spent his entire Junior hockey career with the Hamilton Bulldogs who relocated to Brantford for the 2023-24 season due to the long-term closure of First Ontario Centre. He played a few games for them in 2020-21 and has played with them full-time, starting with the 2021-22 season.

The Bulldogs initially selected Thomas in the third round (57th overall) of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection. He skated in 33 regular season games with the Hamilton Huskies (Alliance Hockey) in 2019-20, collecting 56 points (23 goals, 33 assists).

Thomas appeared in 66 games with Hamilton in 2022-23, where he recorded 56 points (17g, 39a). He led the Bulldogs in points and assists and ranked fifth in goals. The Capitals drafted him during his second season of draft eligibility.

Thomas was linemates with Nick Lardis (Chicago’s 3rd-rounder, No. 67 overall) at Hamilton, one of OHL’s hottest lines in 2nd half of ’22-23. Thomas is a natural center but switched to wing for the season.

He did even better in 2023-24, scoring 21 goals and recording 45 assists, both career highs, in just 57 games, as he missed most of January due to illness. He showed emerging abilities as a leader, often serving as an Alternate Captain starting in November, serving that role more as the season went on, including the playoffs.

During the 2023-24 playoffs, Thomas played in six games, scoring one goal and recording six assists for seven points as Brantford lost to the Ottawa 67’s in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs.

2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS

The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Patrick Thomas during the 2023-2024 season. You can find all monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.

October

In September, he recorded one assist in two games.

Thomas scored a goal in a 5-1 win against the Oshawa Generals on October 20. His goal came at 16:55 during the first period and, at that time, tied the game at 1-1. On October 21, he had the secondary assist on the goal that proved to be the game-winner in a 5-2 win against the Owen Sound Attack. This occurred at 8:18 of the first period.

On October 27, he had a goal and an assist in a 5-4 Overtime win against the North Bay Battalion. He assisted on the team’s third goal at 12:54 during the second period, putting Brantford ahead 3-2. He scored the team’s fourth goal at 0:47 on the power play.

He recorded either a goal or an assist in his last five games played in October. The point streak has extended through November.

November

Thomas scored a goal on November 5 in a 5-2 loss against Oshawa. This goal was the team’s second goal which came at 16:48 into the third period. He recorded at least one assist in the next four consecutive games from November 10 through November 15, with multiple assists in three out of those four games, including three assists in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Peterborough Petes on November 12. His third assist that day was on the game-tying goal that came at 12:39 during the third period.

On November 18, he scored the team’s first goal against the Kingston Frontenacs in a 4-1 win. He was elected the first star of the game. On November 26, in a 5-2 win against the Kingston Frontenacs, he scored the first goal for his team at 4:13 during the third period. At that time, the goal tied the score at 1-1.

During November, he scored three goals and recorded 11 assists in 12 games.

December

Thomas had two assists in the game on December 1, a 4-3 Overtime loss against the Sarnia Sting. On December 7, in a 4-2 win against the Peterborough Petes, he had a goal and an assist. His goal was an empty net goal which came at 19:02 during third period and was the game’s final goal.

On December 8, Thomas had two assists in a 6-5 overtime loss against the Kitchener Rangers. The very next day, December 9, in a rematch of the previous day, he had a goal and two assists in a 5-4 overtime victory. He scored the team’s third goal at 7:56 in the third period, decreasing their deficit to 4-3. He was elected the second star of the game. On December 28, he had a goal and an assist in a 5-4 win against the Oshawa Generals.

Thomas scored a goal and recorded an assist in a 7-4 loss to the Erie Otters in the team’s last game of the 2023 calendar year.

During December, he played in 10 games, scored three goals, and recorded 9 assists in 10 games.

January

Thomas did not play in any games in January. On January 4, he was announced as unavailable due to illness. As the month continued, it would be reported that he was still not available. No details about the nature of his illness were ever publicly revealed.

February

After missing the entire month of January, 11 games in all, due to illness, Thomas returned to the lineup on February 2 for a 5-3 victory over the Sudbury Wolves. Thomas scored the team’s third goal.

Thomas had an assist on February 3 in a 6-4 loss to the North Bay Battalion.

Thomas scored the team’s first goal on February 4 against the Oshawa Generals at 2:22 into the third period in an 8-3 loss. He broke the shutout when the team was already down 7-0

On February 9, Thomas scored two second-period goals and contributed an assist as the team opened up a 5-0 lead before the end of the second period. They ultimately won 6-4. Thomas was elected the first star of the game.

Thomas strikes twice 🏒 #BFD | #ALLCAPS https://t.co/OlqgqOSTbQ pic.twitter.com/qODwuOQ4q1

— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) February 10, 2024

Thomas recorded two assists in an 11-1 win over Peterborough on February 11. He scored one goal and recorded an assist in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Windsor Spitfires on February 14. He was, thus, elected the first star of the game.

On February 18, Thomas scored the team’s third goal in a 5-1 win against the Niagara Ice Dogs.

“As the Bulldogs have done so frequently of late, they fed off a brilliant Drobac stop pushing the lead to 3-0 at 19:08 with Ben Bujold and Adrian Rebelo breaking up ice and into the offensive zone cycling the puck onto Patrick Thomas to fire his 15^th of the season closing the opening frame.”

On February 19, Thomas scored two goals, including the game-winner, in a win over the Erie Otters. His first goal came on a late first period power play at 18:30 which tied the game at 1-1. His game-winner came at 1:30 into the third period. He was elected the second star of the game. The win allowed the Bulldogs to clinch a spot in the WHL playoffs.

He’s double dipping 👀 #BFD https://t.co/RD6SHLcgAd pic.twitter.com/j0njlPWCti

— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) February 19, 2024

OHL Highlights – Feb 19, 2024 – ER (2) – BFD (3) – Brantford Bulldogs (chl.ca)

For February, Thomas played in 12 games, scored eight goals, and recorded eight assists for 16 points overall.

March

On March 1, when playing against the Saginaw Spirit, Thomas assisted on the team’s first goal at 6:35 during the second period that tied the score at 1-1. The Bulldogs ultimately won 5-4 in overtime.

The following day, in a 5-3 win against the Kingston Frontenacs, Thomas had a goal and an assist and was voted second star of the game. His goal came at 5:30 into the second period.

TIC-TAC-GOAL 🚨#ALLCAPS prospect Patrick Thomas finishes off some pretty passing to double the @BulldogsOHL lead! pic.twitter.com/rO8PzgwKrh

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 2, 2024

During a 6-4 loss on March 8 to the Oshawa Generals, he scored the team’s first goal at 8:02 while the team was losing 4-0.

He also assisted on his team’s fourth goal when Thomas sent the puck to the front of the net where teammate Cole Brown scored on a deflection.

Brantford beat Peterborough 7-2 on March 10, a game where Thomas had two assists. One assist came on the team’s second goal at 17:07, a goal that put the team up 2-1. He had the secondary assist on the team’s third goal at 8:12 in the second period on the power play which ended up being the game-winner.

During March, he played in 11 games, scored four goals, and recorded nine assists for 13 points overall.

For the regular season, he had 21 goals and 45 assists in 66 games for the season. He ranked fifth on the team in goals, third in assists, and second in overall points. His final offensive totals would likely have been higher except that he missed the entire month of January due to illness.

Despite having the home-field advantage, Brantford dropped their first-round playoff series to Ottawa in six games. Thomas had 1 goal and 6 assists in playoffs, leading the team in assists and tied for second in points. His goal came in the second game on March 31 at 15:56 in the third period and narrowed their deficit to 4-3 in a game they ultimately lost 6-2. He had three assists in the game on April 6 when they beat Ottawa 6-2 and narrowed their series deficit at the time to 3 games to 2.

PLAYER FORECAST

If he signs a professional contract with the Capitals, he could try to make the team out of training camp or be loaned to the Hershey Bears, as he turns 20-years-old in August. However, he is still young enough to return to Brantford for one more season as Canadians who are drafted by an NHL team can stay in juniors until turning 21.

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By Diane Doyle