Thomas Novak (born April 28, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted with the 85th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2015 NHL entry draft.
Early life
Novak was born on April 28, 1997, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to John and Patti Novak. Although he was born in Minnesota, Novak was raised in River Falls, Wisconsin.
Playing career
After three years of high school hockey at Saint Thomas Academy, Novak joined the Waterloo Black Hawks for the 2014–15 USHL season. Novak's outstanding play with the Black Hawks was rewarded when he was invited to skate in the 2014 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game. In June 2015, Novak was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2015 NHL entry draft.
Novak played college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers from 2015 to 2019.
After his college career, he signed with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) on March 20, 2019.
Novak was named AHL Rookie of the Month for November 2019.
He signed an entry-level contract with Nashville on March 25, 2020, and played in his first NHL game on October 19, 2021. On December 17, 2021, Novak scored his first NHL goal, against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-André Fleury in a 3–2 Nashville win.
In July 2022, Novak re-signed with Nashville on a one-year contract. On February 8, 2023, he signed a new one-year contract with Nashville. Novak finished the 2022–23 NHL season with 17 goals.
On November 14, 2023, Novak was placed on injured reserve with an upperbody injury. He returned to the line-up on December 7 after missing 11 games. On March 4, 2024, the Predators re-signed Novak to a three-year, $10.5 million contract.
On March 5, 2025, Novak was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, alongside Luke Schenn, for Michael Bunting and a fourth round draft pick. In his second game with Pittsburgh, he suffered a stress fracture in his leg, and missed the remainder of the 2024–25 NHL season.
Novak returned in the 2025-26 season, playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career, scoring 42 points.
On July 31, 2026, Novak signed a three-year contract with the Penguins.
International play
Novak helped lead the United States national under-18 team to a bronze medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, and he recorded seven points in four games as a member of the United States national junior team at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | St. Thomas Academy | USHS | 25 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | St. Thomas Academy | USHS | 25 | 25 | 22 | 47 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | St. Thomas Academy | USHS | 25 | 26 | 44 | 70 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 46 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | U. of Minnesota | B1G | 37 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | U. of Minnesota | B1G | 20 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | U. of Minnesota | B1G | 34 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | U. of Minnesota | B1G | 38 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 60 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 27 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 42 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 27 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 25 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 51 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 71 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 52 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2025–26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 82 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 285 | 65 | 94 | 159 | 46 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | United States | IH18 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 2026 | United States | WC | 8th | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game | 2014 | |
| All-Rookie Second Team | 2015 | |
