Robert Thomas might not be playing junior hockey anymore, but he’s still got the best billets in the league.
The Aurora, ONT, native who spent three years with the London Knights before winning an OHL championship with the Hamilton Bulldogs, made a smooth transition to the NHL with the St. Louis Blues. Part of that smooth transition is probably as a result of the great support system he has in St Louis.
You could say his billet family has pretty good experience with hockey, seeing as he lives with the Tkachuks.
Thomas spent time playing with the eldest Tkachuk brother, Matthew when they played with the Knights, and the two clicked well. The Robert and Tkachuk families have grown very close over the years, and when the Tkachuk brothers spent the summer in Toronto training with ex-NHLer Gary Roberts, they stayed at the Thomas family home.
Robert says that former NHLer Keith Tkachuk treats him “like a son”, which, of course, make him subject to Tkachuk house rules.
The #1 rule? No sitting in Keith’s chair.
The best part about this photo, according to Thomas, was the fact that he had to pry Keith out of the seat to take it.
Robert has nothing but high praises for his billet family, and told stlouisblues.com that “[having] Walt around the house to use as an extra tool to my development is really important. I think it will be mostly me asking the questions, but he'll definitely be sharing a lot.”
It’s clear that this living situation is working out very well, just as long as Thomas keeps out of Tkachuk’s chair.
