GEOGHEGAN: Eighth-grade prodigy Thomas leads Downingtown West to first Flyers Cup title
WEST GOSHEN >> On the ice, during the National Anthem prior to the Flyers Cup Girls Final on Wednesday evening at Ice Line, Downingtown West’s Ava Thomas looked much like all of her teammates and the opposing players from West Chester Henderson.
But she is different.
That much is abundantly apparent when the action starts and number 1 is darting in and out of traffic, possessing the puck, creating space and scoring chances. But in addition to skill level, there is much more that distinguishes Thomas from the others.
She is a second-year member of the Whippets’ varsity squad, and yet Thomas won’t actually become a high school student until next fall. Born in 2006, she is just 14 years old.
With Thomas doing it all once again, Downingtown West roared back from an early deficit to score in the final minute to edge the Warriors 5-4 and capture the Whippets’ first ever Flyers Cup title. Thomas had at least 20 shots on goal in the clash and scored her team’s first goal in impressive fashion, going top shelf on the breakaway midway through the second period. Henderson keeper Kayla Czukoski turned aside 50 of 54 shots overall.
“It was really crazy the way we came back from 3-0 deficit,” Thomas said. “(Czukoski) is a real good goalie – I’ve played against her all of the time.
“I was a bit worried when it was 3-0 but we were working real hard and getting a lot of scoring chances. It was getting little bit frustrating but you have to just keep shooting.”
An eighth grader at Downingtown Middle School, Thomas fits the definition of a prodigy. As a 13-year-old seventh grader, she registered 54 goals and 17 assists last season for West, and she did it in just 18 games.
“Ava is obviously very talented,” said Whippets’ head coach Dave Schultz.
“She is progressing well and I would think the sky would be the limit for her.”
Despite her age, Thomas is also a member of the Junior Flyers Girls Under-16 Tier 1 squad – the preeminent club team in the region. And that is the reason that she missed a good number of regular season games for West. But that all changed for the postseason, and it’s been a major factor in the deepest Flyers Cup run in program history.
“There is a significant difference when Ava is on the ice,” Schultz said. “When she is out there the ice opens up for all of our other players because she is the main focus of the opposing defense. She passes the puck well and distributes it well.
“We have much more of a punch when we have a 50-goal scorer in the lineup, obviously.”
In 2021, Thomas has played in just eight high school contests, and yet she leads the team in points with 23 goals and seven assists. In her high school career, she is averaging more than three goals per outing.
“She is very fast and has a knack for being where the puck is and getting into open ice,” Schultz said.
“There are a lot of good players who are good at different things. Ava is really good at putting the puck in the net.”
The Downingtown West girls’ ice hockey program began in 2007 and is one of the area’s first. But there is no middle school program for girls, and that’s the reason that Thomas is allowed to play for West this season and last. In the offseason, however, the sport’s governing body passed a rule that seventh graders were going to be ineligible to play on high school teams.
“The problem for really talented girls is that if they play with the boys it is so much more physical,” Schultz explained. “At Ava’s age, playing in a checking division can be dangerous. Nobody wants to see their daughter smacked around.”
According to Schultz, the biggest challenge when Thomas is on the ice for the Whippets is getting her teammates acclimated to her speed, and trying to raise the level of their play to maximize her effectiveness.
“Ava’s talent compensates for a lot of our team deficiencies,” Schultz said. “But I may be a little too picky – I’m trying to get the best out of my team.
“It’s almost like the rest of our team has to work on elevating their games in order to help Ava. She is so fast, the rest of the team has to speed up to catch her. But she brings out the best in our team because she is constantly pushing the envelope.”
Other than the head-turning skills, perhaps the biggest surprise watching Thomas is that for Downingtown West, she actually plays a defensive position. That may seem counterintuitive, but according to Schultz, it is for a very simple reason.
“That’s a good place to be if you want her to be the player who primarily has the puck,” he said. “You don’t want her waiting around to get passes from teammates.
“Plus she is a good defender too. But she is truly an offensive threat at all times.”
Thomas added: “I don’t usually play defense, but for this team I just feel more in control.”
Watching Thomas and her teammates skating around the rink with the Flyer Cup Trophy, it was easy to see that the star high school player, who still isn’t yet in high school, was long ago accepted by her older teammates.
“I think a lot of my teammates look up to me, but I look up to a lot of the older girls on the team,” Thomas said. “Last season they really accepted me as a teammate, and now I am just one of the players.”
