Named the NHL's top goaltender last year, alumnus Tim Thomas '97 spends a good deal of the off-season in Vermont, where he'll supplement his regimen with a workout at UVM's varsity athletics training facility. (Photo: Sally McCay)

In 2005, Tim Thomas '97 was into his thirties, his dream of playing in the NHL slipping into the rearview. A difficult realization for most in his position, the former college All-America player had made peace with his place in hockey and was enjoying life as a professional athlete in Finland with his wife and three kids.

Then the Boston Bruins called…again.

He'd been down this road before with the Bruins. In 2002-03, there was a four-game stint after semi-pro stops in Birmingham, Providence, Houston, Hamilton (Ontario), Detroit, and overseas. He had another run with the team in 2004-05 that fell short. But this time would have to be different. Thomas and his family were happy in Finland and willing to pass on another shot at the NHL unless they got some guarantees. But despite a verbal assurance that his place on the team was secure, his worst fear came true: a ticket back to Providence, Boston's minor league affiliate.

"That was a real low point," Thomas says, as he heads to a workout at Patrick Gym in early August. "I'd gotten frustrated before that because I knew I could play at that level and was really ready by around age twenty-five. But by the time they called again, I'd actually made peace with the fact that I wasn't going to get a chance. I'd already proven I could play at the highest level, so just having that personal satisfaction was enough."

But that chance did arise when two Bruins goalies suffered injuries, and Thomas was called back up to Boston in January 2006. This one didn't get away. Thomas established himself as Boston's man in the net that season, then joined hockey's elite the next year by making the 2007-2008 All-Star game. Last season capped his climb, as Thomas earned the Vezina Trophy, given annually to the NHL's top goaltender. The Bruins signed him to a four-year contract extension through the 2012-13 season that will pay him an average of $5 million a year.

"I never questioned my ability, but for goalies it's different because it's hard to get a chance with only thirty starting jobs (in the NHL)," Thomas says. "It's been an incredible last few years."

The pattern of knowing he had talent, but having to fight for the chance to prove it started at Davison High School outside Flint, Mich. Following graduation, only Michigan Tech and UMass-Lowell showed any interest until UVM coaches called in the third week of August. "It was the equivalent of coming from the Northeast Kingdom," Thomas says. "I'd never even been east of Niagara Falls before. When I told my friends, they asked me what state Vermont was in."

Thomas quickly established himself as one of the top goalies in the ECAC and was drafted 217th overall by the Quebec Nordiques following his freshman year. He stayed at UVM for four seasons, posting a record of 81-43-15 while, along with stars such as Martin St. Louis '97 and Eric Perrin '97, helping lead the Catamounts to the 1996 Frozen Four.

"The transition to college was more mental than physical," Thomas recalls. "My time at UVM taught me that I had to perform at a high level every night if I wanted to be successful. It also instilled in me the confidence that I could play at hockey's highest level."

Terry Lovelette, an assistant coach who has served as UVM's goalie guru for the past 15 years, says Thomas has a rare combination of an incredible work ethic, competitiveness, athleticism, and humbleness. "When you combine these attributes you've got something special," Lovelette says. "Timmy's had to work hard for everything he's earned and realizes how fragile it all is. No one has had to believe in Tim Thomas more than Tim Thomas. He's had to prove himself for so long; it's really a testament to his will."

Thomas, who met his wife, Melissa, while he was at UVM and she was attending Burlington's erstwhile Trinity College, still spends a chunk of the off-season in Vermont. He frequently works out at UVM's varsity athletics training facility, occasionally deviating from his regimen with a trip to Al's French Fries. He also devotes a good deal of his days to the Tim Thomas Hockey Camp, held at Cairns Arena in South Burlington. Unlike some professional athletes who lend nothing but a name to their eponymous camp, Thomas can be seen in full pads sliding on the ice with fledgling goalies.

"It tickles me to see someone like him smiling and having such a good time with the kids," Lovelette says. "He doesn't have a pretentious bone in his body, which makes his success that much more special to see."