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Player Discussion Tage Thompson 1

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jBuds said:
What blows my mind is that what we’ve seen in the regular season from him thus far is so ****ing distant from what he showed in preseason.

It’s like someone unplugged him or shredded his wires. There was no gradual tail off.
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....which was what - 2 toe-drags that opposing defensemen underestimated their coverages on and a few random poke-checks of pucks? I recall several others noting even in the preseason that Thompson was guilty of coasting back to his zone when the puck was turned over. He didn't really create many scoring opportunities for his linemates in the preseason either IMO.
 
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Hoppe’s latest article, with quotes from Phil, suggest he could be sent down today or tomorrow. I would think there’s no need to call anyone up with 14 healthy forwards.
 
I think he needs to play big minutes, all situations, and right now Roch is the best place for his development. He's been good at every level coming up and he's just turning 21. Let him develop properly in the AHL, whether that ends up being 20 games or a full season.
 
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Sabretip said:
....which was what - 2 toe-drags that opposing defensemen underestimated their coverages on and a few random poke-checks of pucks? I recall several others noting even in the preseason that Thompson was guilty of coasting back to his zone when the puck was turned over. He didn't really create many scoring opportunities for his linemates in the preseason either IMO.
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It was a big body moving fast, gaining the zone with possession, finding space without the puck, and getting quality shots on goal
 
jBuds said:
It was a big body moving fast, gaining the zone with possession, finding space without the puck, and getting quality shots on goal
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Compared to....? He may be an acceptable skater when comparing him to other 6'-5" forwards but relative to the pace of play the league is currently operating at, he was slow by comparison to the opposition IMO.
 
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He struggled last season with St. Louis as he was only called up out of a necessity due to an over whelming amount of injuries St. Louis sustained.

It's a shame his ELC kicked in because of that but that's no reason to have him sitting in the press box not playing hockey because hes a liability to the Sabres when hes on the ice.

In Rochester he will see playing time and can continue to develop, it's very clear he still has much to learn before becoming a fixture at the pro level.
 
Sabretip said:
Compared to....? He may be an acceptable skater when comparing him to other 6'-5" forwards but relative to the pace of play the league is currently operating at, he was slow by comparison to the opposition IMO.
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Compared to everyone in the preseason games in which he excelled. I thought he stood out above all, not just above comparably sized forwards.

But come regular season play, you’re right...he looked slow and tentative compared to all (not just comparably sized fwds!)
 
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Sabretip said:
Compared to....? He may be an acceptable skater when comparing him to other 6'-5" forwards but relative to the pace of play the league is currently operating at, he was slow by comparison to the opposition IMO.
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Looks more out of shape, than slow.

He's got alot of growing to do, hopefully he can get some good lower body strength and that can help him with more powerful strides.
 
Sabretip said:
Compared to....? He may be an acceptable skater when comparing him to other 6'-5" forwards but relative to the pace of play the league is currently operating at, he was slow by comparison to the opposition IMO.
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Can't have a team of speedsters. Look what happened to the 07 Sabres. Got the ECF and got checked and hit out of the playoffs.

Thompson needs to add muscle and play a power game with his shot.
 
I think he will become effective eventually. He just needs another season or two to grow into his body and work on his foot agility.

Send him to Rochester, eat healthy a lot and develop. He sees the game well enough. That skill set will be useful once he cleans up his game a little bit.
 
At this point, he's just sitting in the press box. With the team on a roll, he has no chance of cracking the Buffalo lineup until there is an injury or a losing streak or something. It should be non-controversial that he's better off playing big minutes in Rochester for now. The controversy will come when Buffalo needs a call-up and has to choose from among Tage, Olofsson, CJ or Nylander. But let's cross that bridge when we come to it.
 
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This whole situation just reinforces my belief that this team is being run by idiots. Tage has absolutely no business being in the NHL, and any sane and rational organization would send him to the AHL where he can work on and hopefully improve on his game to the point he becomes an NHL player. What in God's name do they think keeping him on the roster and having him take a seat in the press box is going to accomplish? Do they think he will magically improve by NOT playing games? The stupidity here is astounding.
 
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sabremike said:
This whole situation just reinforces my belief that this team is being run by idiots. Tage has absolutely no business being in the NHL, and any sane and rational organization would send him to the AHL where he can work on and hopefully improve on his game to the point he becomes an NHL player. What in God's name do they think keeping him on the roster and having him take a seat in the press box is going to accomplish? Do they think he will magically improve by NOT playing games? The stupidity here is astounding.
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NHL practices against NHL talent. I have no doubts that they are communicating what they need from him. If they feel he was that close on the bubble, then he's basically undergoing an extended training camp.

Do I think he'd be better served in the AHL? Hard to say. A lot of his issues would likely not be fixed in the AHL, because the extra fancy moves he likes to try will have a much higher success rate in the AHL. Perhaps time with the Americans would do damage in the long run, because he may become more reliant on his stickhandling.
 
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Does little to zero help to have Tage is the pressbox every night. Give him some time playing with Asplund, build some chemistry and then bring them up together next season.
 
This team loved carrying 8 defensemen the last three years. Now, they have a prospect who should be playing 18 minutes a night in Rochester, and they refuse to carry eight defensemen in Buffalo - this despite having a defenseman (Tennyson) that nobody wants playing in Buffalo or Rochester, and who could just practice and sit in the press box. I don't get it.
 
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TheMistyStranger said:
NHL practices against NHL talent. I have no doubts that they are communicating what they need from him. If they feel he was that close on the bubble, then he's basically undergoing an extended training camp.

Do I think he'd be better served in the AHL? Hard to say. A lot of his issues would likely not be fixed in the AHL, because the extra fancy moves he likes to try will have a much higher success rate in the AHL. Perhaps time with the Americans would do damage in the long run, because he may become more reliant on his stickhandling.
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This is an interesting conjecture. Turning Tage into a gym class all-star wouldn't help anyone.

He also lives with Dahlin and CM, so maybe they need a fortnite partner.
 
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