And the 24-year-old Stockport blueliner said he hoped he would be icing in front of goaltender Jody Lehman again next season.

Lehman could be replaced, possibly by Christian Bronsard, between the pipes.

But Thomas, speaking in an audio interview with The Star, said: "Jody has been here ever since I have been here, he's a great character in the room and gets everybody motivated. Last year I thought he had an unbelievable season.

"I hope he is gong to be back, he helps out all the defencemen - he's helped me out specially being a bit younger than the other guys.

"I don't really know Bronsard I have only played against him. But I would be happy to have Jody back and I hope does return."

On a personal basis, Thomas said he was pleased to accept a new one year dea… and revealed negotiations were over pretty quickly!

"Winning the Play Offs was the first major thing I have won in my career so I'm looking forward to hopefully winning a few more. I walked into (general manager) Mike O'Connor's office, sat down and he put his hand over the table, we shook hands and it was done basically. It was literally 30 seconds and it was all over.

"I always wanted to come back to Sheffield, I love it here and hopefully I can stay here as long as possible. There was no option in my mind."

Coach David Matsos commented: "Mark is an integral part of our hockey club, one of the livewires around the place, he is a valued and trusted member of the group.

"I trust him out on the ice in all situations, he kills penalties well, he is responsible and has a physical edge to his game

"For me it was a no-brainer, I looked around at my options and couldn't see a guy fitting in to his job better than him."

CLICK ON THE GREEN ICON ABOVE TO HEAR THE STAR'S INTERVIEW WITH MARK THOMAS

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