Thomas Wingels (born April 12, 1988) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He played most of his career in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

and the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

and retired after two seasons in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) with

Genève-Servette HC The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at the ...

Playing career

As a youth, Wingels played in the 2002

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Chicago Young Americans

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team. Wingels played three seasons with the

Miami Redhawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

of the

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference formed on July 9, 2011. The league began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combina ...

(NCHC). After his freshman season, he was drafted by the

as the 177th pick in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

. He made his NHL debut on October 8, 2010, in San Jose's 2010–11 season opener wearing jersey number 57. Wingels scored his first career NHL goal in front of his hometown crowd in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on January 15, 2012, against

goaltender

Corey Crawford Corey Crawford (born December 31, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Crow" by teammates and fans, he played his entire professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), w ...

. During the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...

, Wingels would play in Finland for

KooKoo ''KooKoo'' is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 27, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It ...

. On January 24, 2017, in the midst of his seventh season with the Sharks and having contributed 8 points in 37 games, Wingels was traded to the

in exchange for

Buddy Robinson Charles James "Buddy" Robinson III (born September 30, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing under contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Playing career Raised in Bellm ...

Zack Stortini Zachery Stortini (born September 11, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger and current assistant coach with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edm ...

and a seventh-round pick in the

2017 NHL Entry Draft The 2017 NHL Entry Draft was the 55th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 23–24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The first three selections were Nico Hischier going to the New Jersey Devils, Nolan Patrick going to the ...

. On July 1, 2017, having left the Senators as a free agent, Wingels signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. On February 26, 2018, Wingels was traded to the

in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. On August 15, 2018, after eight seasons in the NHL, Wingels signed a two-year optional, CHF 1.5 million contract with Swiss club

of the

(NL). He broke his jaw in the first regular season game with Genève-Servette, forcing him to sit out the first two months of the 2018–19 season. Wingels only appeared in 19 regular season games (18 points) with multiple injuries throughout the season. He missed the first two games of the 2019 NL playoffs before appearing in game 3 of the 1/4 final against

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern (''Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English language, English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. ...

, scoring one goal and tallying an assist. In that game, Wingels was also guilty of a boarding against SCB's

Jan Muršak Jan Muršak (born 20 January 1988) is a professional Slovenian ice hockey player for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Muršak first played hockey in Slovenia as a member of HDK Maribor before he left to spend one season in the Cze ...

which resulted in a two-game suspension and a fine of CHF 4,000. Wingels made his return to the lineup for game 6, scoring a goal with 46 seconds to go in the game to come back to 1-2, before

Daniel Winnik Daniel Spencer Winnik (born March 6, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing with Geneve-Servette HC in the National League (NL). Playing career After two seasons in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey ...

scored the tying goal for Geneva with 29 seconds left. The game went into overtime and Mark Arcobello scored the game-winning goal for Bern after 117 minutes, in the third OT, establishing a record for the longest game ever played in the National League. Wingels only played 2 playoffs games, putting up 3 points. On April 8, 2019, Wingels agreed to a two-year contract extension with Geneva worth CHF 1.6 million. Despite a valid contract for the 2020/21 season, Wingels was released by Servette on June 5, 2020. On June 11, 2020, Wingels' last professional team,

, announced that he decided to retire from professional hockey.

Personal life

Wingels graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

in 2011 with a degree in accounting while playing in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). Wingels married his wife Molly Wingels (née Meyer) in 2014 and the two have one daughter together. Wingels is a member of the Advisory Board for

You Can Play You Can Play is a social activism campaign dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sports, centered on the slogan, "If you can play, you can play." The campaign was launched on March 4, 2012, by its three co-founders: Patrick Burke (a sco ...

, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports. He has also appeared in a video supporting the campaign. He was a close friend of

Brendan Burke Brendan Gilmore Burke (December 8, 1988 – February 5, 2010) was an athlete and student manager at Miami University for the RedHawks men's ice hockey team. The youngest son of Brian Burke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, lo ...

, whose death was the catalyst for the formation of the organization. Wingels was the Sharks' nominee for the

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL h ...

in 2012, primarily for his work with You Can Play. He marched in the

Chicago Pride Parade The Chicago Pride Parade, also colloquially (and formerly) called the Chicago Gay Pride Parade or PRIDE Chicago, is the annual pride parade held on the last Sunday of June in Chicago, Illinois in the United States. It is considered the ...

with the Chicago Gay Hockey Association on June 24, 2012. On May 2, 2013, Wingels' work with You Can Play led him to be nominated for the NHL's

King Clancy Memorial Trophy The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is a sports award given annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. The ...

, an award given to player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wingels, Tommy 1988 births American men's ice hockey centers American people of Dutch descent Boston Bruins players Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Chicago Blackhawks players Genève-Servette HC players Ice hockey players from Illinois Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois KooKoo players Living people Miami RedHawks men's ice hockey players New Trier High School alumni Ottawa Senators players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Worcester Sharks players