The Minnesota Wild have added Peter Thome as a Hockey Operations Analyst and emergency backup goalie, giving the organization a new off-ice role and a designated EBUG for the season.
Thome, 29, is a Minneapolis native whose playing background includes four seasons at the University of North Dakota from 2017-21. In 45 games there, he finished 19-14-4 with a 2.24 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage and three shutouts.
His best stretch came in 2019-20, when he put together a 7-1-1 record with a 1.37 GAA, a .936 SV% and two shutouts in 11 games. That .936 mark stands as the best single-season save percentage in North Dakota history, while his 1.37 GAA ranks second all-time among goalies with at least 10 games played.
His career 2.24 GAA is eighth in school history.
Thome was also recognized three times on the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Academic All-Conference Team, earning the honor in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
After his time at North Dakota, he played one season at the University of St. Thomas in 2021-22, going 3-24-1 with a 4.53 GAA and a .876 SV%.
He then appeared in three ECHL games with the Idaho Steelheads in 2021-22 and two games with the Maine Mariners in 2022-23. The Columbus Blue Jackets originally selected him in the sixth round, 155th overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Thome’s post-playing path has included work in hockey operations and video. He spent two seasons with the Chicago Steel in the USHL, serving as an Analyst in 2022-23 and then Director of Hockey Operations in 2023-24.
Most recently, he worked as a Video Coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL in 2024-25. He will wear No. 00 with Minnesota.
The new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement requires every team to name a permanent EBUG who travels with the club for all home and road games this season. To qualify, that goalie cannot have NHL experience or more than 80 professional games on his resume.
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