Player Discussion Tage Thompson 1
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Goathead
Registered User
Right where he is. He’s been out two games now I’m sure the coaches have told him the same thing. He needs to learn how to compete in the NHL.
NotABadPeriod
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If the thinking is that he would be able to get away with it in the AHL and thus it would only reinforce bad habits, then I could see it. But Taylor and staff should be able to work it out of him at that level.
Buffaloed
webmaster
Maybe we could loan him the Bridgeport and he could play for his father. Brent would smack him upside the head if he lost the puck trying those moves.
I see what you're saying, but I don't think we've seen anything from him that indicates he *should* be in the NHL but for a few hiccups. He's just been bad all around, albeit in a small sample size. I'm assuming that acquiring this player was a gamble on his upside. As we are seeing with Alex Nylander , Brendan Guhle, and Victor Olofsson/Lawrence Pilut (both of whom played pro hockey for years prior to this) right now, the AHL would be a fine place to learn how to best use his talents to play effective professional hockey. He's 20, about to turn 21. There's no shame in playing in the AHL.
I am hoping the only reason he hasn't been sent down is because they don't want to mess with Rochester's chemistry right now. I don't see anything in particular in this player's background that indicates he *must* be on an NHL roster. If they send him down and he lights up the AHL, I'll enjoy watching it and I'll gladly eat crow. But..I just don't understand why I'm supposed to be expecting this kid to be that good. There is very little in his history predicting he'll become an effective NHL player. At least, not yet. He's big and he likes to (try to) dangle. He can wire the puck. That's all I've got. Let's see him do these things consistently and effectively in professional hockey before assuming he should be an NHL regular.
TNT, of all people, needs the AHL the most. He needs to learn how to use his size and skill to be *effective* in pro hockey. The AHL is the place to figure that out. If Lawrence Pilut and Victor Olofsson, both of whom were elite players in the SHL, are not too good for the AHL, then what is Tage Thompson, whose only claim to fame thus far is that he scored a lot of PP goals in Hockey East, relying on to get by? To paraphrase Moneyball, "if he's so good, how come he doesn't play good?"
tl;dr: what evidence should lead me to believe this kid is good? he should be in roch learning how to be good with the rest of the kids his age, and get off my lawn, eh
Goathead
Registered User
I’m not trying to say he’s been good and deserves to stay up because in reality he’s been terrible so far. I just want whatever is best for his development because we need to recoup something from this ROR deal. I trust that the Organization will do what’s best for him (even though our track record sucks).
Paxon
202? Stanley Cup Champions
He needs to learn pro hockey.
I am very high on Tage. I think his ceiling is Kucherov, real talk. I'm reticent to send him down because I don't want his confidence getting shot. That said, if Rochester helps his development by letting him polish the things that he does well and work out the bad habits, then it's fine. Let him take his time. Because if we hit on him, we're going to hit big.
Paxon
202? Stanley Cup Champions
Brace yourself for disappointment. He has no chance of being Kucherov. He is nowhere near as talented overall.
sabremike
Kemonito superfan
The problem is that he is a real bad player who in no way belongs in the NHL at this point. Do you really think if they keep throwing him out there when he is in way over his head that he will magically get better?
Buffaloed
webmaster
Here's some background info on Tage Thompson and his family
UConn's Tage Thompson, Who Has A Sweet Shot, Owes Much To Tough-Guy Dad
UConn's Tage Thompson, Who Has A Sweet Shot, Owes Much To Tough-Guy Dad
Goathead
Registered User
Sabre the Win
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Effort and battle went poof. Impact did too. It's a head-scratcher for me.
Is he that concerned about making mistakes? Or is he worried about how others are going to light him up, since regular season NHL defenders are not always the preseason minor-league level that get mixed in?
Suffice to say, sending him down and giving Olofsson a look seems like an easy path for the team. Get Thompson's confidence back, get him reps on the farm, then bring him back later. No harm in ripening up in Rochester.
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Agreed. Sending him down is the right move...though I am pretty sure he will get at least one more turn from Phil.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Is it me, or has this version of Thompson been more of what he did most of his time in St Louis last season?
Dahlin 2 Eichel
Registered User
Tage gets 1 more game before being sent down. He can go help out Roch. For the year.
old kummelweck
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SabresFan26
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Can't say win/lose yet but I like the trade a lot and I will be the first to say let him go to Rochester and play some games.
Sabretip
Registered User
Botterill can boast all he wants that Thompson was a player he insisted on in the trade but from the scouting reports to his training camp and games to date, Thompson has shown himself to be an average skater with below-average anticipation of the play and limited playmaking skills. Scoring 2 preseason goals on toe-drags does not warrant qualifying him as a sniper in the making or a future part of the Sabres' core. One can dismiss his lack of physical strength, relative to his size, due to his age and the "he'll fill out as he grows" prophecy but he looks very much like the kind of player that doesn't fit the high-tempo, quick transition game Botterill and Housley keep emphasizing as their model moving forward.
I know the O'Reilly trade has been debated ad nauseum but it's evident that Botterill wanted a high pick; a prospect; and some veteran stopgaps in return (along with paying the bonus) and accepted whatever the Blues were willing to give in those categories just to remove the "negativity" that O'Reilly supposedly brought. He got a prospect in Thompson who doesn't fit the style of team he's trying to build, along with 2 players that apparently earn their high salaries more for what they bring in intangibles off the ice. Since this thread is about Thompson, I won't belabor the way Botterill's trade deteriorated any semblance of 2nd line scoring.
It's not likely to happen any time soon but hopefully Botterill can recoup something in the future by dealing Thompson for another prospect that does better fit the style of play he says he wants.
I know the O'Reilly trade has been debated ad nauseum but it's evident that Botterill wanted a high pick; a prospect; and some veteran stopgaps in return (along with paying the bonus) and accepted whatever the Blues were willing to give in those categories just to remove the "negativity" that O'Reilly supposedly brought. He got a prospect in Thompson who doesn't fit the style of team he's trying to build, along with 2 players that apparently earn their high salaries more for what they bring in intangibles off the ice. Since this thread is about Thompson, I won't belabor the way Botterill's trade deteriorated any semblance of 2nd line scoring.
It's not likely to happen any time soon but hopefully Botterill can recoup something in the future by dealing Thompson for another prospect that does better fit the style of play he says he wants.
Sabretip
Registered User
Sabretip
Registered User
I think either Nylander or Smith, both of whom are better skaters and able to skate with Mittelstadt, would be better options.
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