After all of the Shadowlands features of Thrall, I can see why they’d want to avoid throwing him into the spotlight again.
But there are many other prominent shaman and related characters that could easily have that spotlight, and it’s a big shame that DF, with all of its themes being deeply connected to the elements in some way, doesn’t feature the Earthen Ring in almost any capacity. There are a couple of representatives here and there, but the same goes for other organizations.
I’ve covered something of the sort before in another thread, but the Primalists remain the single most wasted concept in the expansion so far where narrative is concerned. They were introduced with great potential to be another Twilight’s Hammer, but on behalf of a more primal power instead of a downright malevolent one, and a rivalry with the Earthen Ring would have given shaman players a lot to fulfill their class fantasy. It’s true that currently, Evokers are the class that’s featured most prominently, but these themes should tie into one another.
Lastly yeeessssss those effects on the Primalists’ eyes need to be made available to players at some point. Even outside of shaman, they provide a great option to champion whatever power might have bestowed them, from the elements, to fel, to the light.