Thomas Stuart Pederson is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenseman

Defenceman (ice hockey)

Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

 who played five seasons in the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 with the San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

 and Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 between 1992–93 and 1996–97. Pederson played one season in Japan for Seibu Tetsudo Tokyo

Japan Ice Hockey League

The Japan Ice Hockey League was an annual ice hockey league that began in 1966 and ended in 2004 when it was replaced by Asia League Ice Hockey...

 between playing for the Sharks and the Maple Leafs. He retired in 2000 after playing two season for the Hannover Scorpions

Hannover Scorpions

The Hannover Scorpions are a professional ice hockey team founded in 1975 as ESC Wedemark. The team was renamed Wedemark Scorpions in 1996 after the rock band Scorpions, who also call Hanover, Lower Saxony their home. Their games are played at TUI Arena of the Expo Plaza...

 in Germany's

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Deutsche Eishockey Liga

Pederson was drafted 217th overall by the Minnesota North Stars

Minnesota North Stars

The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...

 in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft

1989 NHL Entry Draft

The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Some believe that the Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft was the most successful ever, with 5,721 total NHL games played by the players selected.-Selections by round:...

. He played 240 career NHL games, scoring 20 goals and 49 assists for 69 points.

He later created the Green Biscuit, an off-ice stick handling and passing aid which stays flat on nearly any surface.