Whitehead, the current head coach at the University of Maine who was an assistant for the River Hawks when they recruited Thomas in the 1990s, realized that Thomas didn't have a great opportunity to play as a freshman. He would have had to sit behind Hobey Baker nominee Dwayne Roloson, so Thomas decided to go to Vermont.
Even still, Whitehead and former Lowell head coach Bruce Crowder tried to lure Thomas to the River Hawks. Now, the story makes Whitehead laugh as he watches both Thomas and Roloson square off in the Eastern Conference final.
"Bruce Crowder went to see him at some kind of [recruiting] tournament," Whitehead recalled. "Recruiting was different back then. It was late-season tournaments. Guys knew about [Thomas], but he was still out there. It was late in the year, and I remember Bruce going to see him, and he obviously really liked him. I don't remember the particulars, but I know [Thomas] had a better opportunity to play at Vermont because Dwayne was still with us. Having said that, we ended up getting a guy, Marty Fillion, who never played in the NHL but he helped us get to the NCAAs again, the same year Vermont went [with Thomas] in 1996. So we had some great games against them."
Thomas had a winning record during all four of his seasons at Vermont from 1993-97, finishing with an 81-43-15 mark and nine shutouts. As a junior, Thomas posted career bests with a 26-7-4 record and a 2.34 goals-against average, and he led the Catamounts to the Frozen Four.
"Every time Bruce and I would see Thomas do well," Whitehead said, "we were like, 'Aw, that's the guy. We were on him.' Yeah, he was one we were looking at, and he'd have to tell you the story, but I'm sure he saw a better opportunity to play up there because we had Dwayne at that point. That opportunity made more sense for him at the time."
