Player Discussion Tage Thompson 1

[1point21Gigawatts]

Reinhart dishing to him and having him drop bombs sure would fit well.

Agreed, and i think thompson was more successful against the pens because he did a better job working himself into the right areas to drop those bombs from Reinhart whereas before he was lost and constantly behind the play or in no man's land. If he keeps this up, then we'll all be a lot happier with his roster spot.

 

[sfoote]

I went to the New Jersey prospect game, where he heavily stood out. It wasn’t the breakaway goal, it was his ability to stand up rushing dmen using his body position and long stick to strip pucks and force offensive possession. He did that like 5 times that game.

Last night was the first time I saw him do that successfully in the nhl for us. He needs to keep bringing that aspect of his game to the fold, because Reinhart can find him for every shot in the world if he forces more possessions.

Do you not understand the difference between prospects and bona fide NHLers ?

 

[Gabrielor]

Do you not understand the difference between prospects and bona fide NHLers ?

I’m not sure how to respond to this. Do I understand that his forecheck positioning on prospects will be different than vs NHLers?

Perhaps you should rethink your statement, and try sounding a little less pretentious.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

One thing I noticed was his deployment. Tage is getting less then 40!% OZS. For a young player not known for his 2 way play he is not getting sheltered deployment at all.

That being said he should be set down. But he has not been as atrocious as people are making it out to be. After watching players like Varone, Dalpe, Nolan, Des etc if Tage Thompson is our worst forward we got a damn good team.

Tage will be fine. He is a bigger guy and will take a couple years to fully develop. When he does he is going to be a big forward with a booming shot. He will be a solid 20 goal, 40 point middle 6 winger with size.

I cannot wait for the day our 2nd and 3rd lines are filled with Thompson, Nylander, Olofsson and Asplund.

 

[truthbluth]

One thing I noticed was his deployment. Tage is getting less then 40!% OZS. For a young player not known for his 2 way play he is not getting sheltered deployment at all.

That being said he should be set down. But he has not been as atrocious as people are making it out to be. After watching players like Varone, Dalpe, Nolan, Des etc if Tage Thompson is our worst forward we got a damn good team.

Tage will be fine. He is a bigger guy and will take a couple years to fully develop. When he does he is going to be a big forward with a booming shot. He will be a solid 20 goal, 40 point middle 6 winger with size.

I cannot wait for the day our 2nd and 3rd lines are filled with Thompson, Nylander, Olofsson and Asplund.

Tage is absolutely known for his 2 way play. Bots even talked about it after the trade. Otherwise I agree with most of this. I still think hed be better off developing his O skills more in the AHL, but I am coming around on playing him in Buffalo.

 

[Dirty Dog]

So he looked much improved two games ago, but still not great. And then had a very solid game against philly.

He has been approving it seems game to game, and decent shifts are becoming more common.

 

[Buffaloed]

He's going to develop into dominant player that can take over games. We saw a bit of that today vs Montreal. The Habs couldn't handle him. When he fills out a bit he'll be very hard to stop without taking a penalty.

 

[57special]

Thompson, when he is handling the puck well, reminds me of Pete Mahovolich.

 

[dire wolf]

Thompson, when he is handling the puck well, reminds me of Pete Mahovolich.

And when he's not, he's more like John Malkovich

 

[57special]

Pete M didn't break out till he was 24 yo.

 

[RecycledEichel]

Seems to be getting better with each game. His skill is coming out more and more

 

[beerme1]

Thompson, when he is handling the puck well, reminds me of Pete Mahovolich.

You may be right but I'm thinking of Frank and you should be banned for this! Actually Pete was good in spurts but could never hold a candle to his bro. But man what bloodlines there.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

The guy is only 21 and is still filling out. Look at Casey, could not do a pull up at the combine and he is gradually getting stronger and fitter. Give Tage a good 60 games this year and another off season of training and lifting and he could be a guy that could surprise us all next year.

He should have had his third in a row tonight. That move he pulled on the d and Niemi was incredible for a player so tall. He has a monster shot and we can use his size against physical teams. Especially with Skinner, Eichel, Mitts and Sheary. None of them are soft they all are not afraid of any contact and are gritty but they are not big by any mean. Skilled big guys like Risto, Dahlin and Tage could provide that strength and size on the ice to tell other teams you will not push us around.


I was thinking of semi recent comparables and not sure if this was mentioned or not but he reminds me of Pyatt but with better IQ and not nearly as soft. He has those nice hands and shot for a tall lanky player but unlike Pyatt I think he will reach his potential. At one point Pyatt was an elite prospect and a #8 pick projected to be a 30 goal power forward type.

 

[steveoath]

Tage showed really good moments last night. He looks like he's starting to realise he needs to use his size more. Hope this is the just the beginning...

 

[Aladyyn]

So he looked much improved two games ago, but still not great. And then had a very solid game against philly.

He has been approving it seems game to game, and decent shifts are becoming more common.

Hmmmmm, I wonder what could possibly be the cause of Tage looking better in recent games...

 

[vcv]

Hmmmmm, I wonder what could possibly be the cause of Tage looking better in recent games...

Ate his Wheaties?
Took his vitamins?
Said his prayers?
Ate his Broccoli?

 

[Aladyyn]

Ate his Wheaties?
Took his vitamins?
Said his prayers?
Ate his Broccoli?

Slapped his pp?
Asked his mom for tips?
Made a deal with the devil?

Raised the stakes?
Elevated his game?
Installed new firmware in his brain?
Noticed he was playing bad?
Hoped things would get better?
Acted like he belonged?
Rose to the occasion?
Took a leap of faith?

Who knows, really.

 

[MtlsabresFAN]

I'm not as knowledgeable as you guys but I think he got better because he's playing with RINO more

 

[The Norris Division]

Seems to be getting better with each game. His skill is coming out more and more

Same for Mittelstadt
Same for Dahlin

Heck even Risto


Good times.

 

[57special]

You may be right but I'm thinking of Frank and you should be banned for this! Actually Pete was good in spurts but could never hold a candle to his bro. But man what bloodlines there.

The Big M was a sure thing HOF'er, so it's no shame to say he was better than Pete, but Pete had some great years, also.

 

[Buffaloed]

Thompson, when he is handling the puck well, reminds me of Pete Mahovolich.

They do look similar.

Spoiler: Peter Mahovlich - 1972 Summit Series Game 2, Goal 4

Spoiler: Habs vs islanders Peter Mahovlich Goal

 

[hizzoner]

Peter Mahovlich was a fun loving lanky guy who looked awkward as hell playing junior. Not like Frank who seemed so solemn and driven. Frank could skate -mainly north and south-and had the shot. Peter developed later in his career and became a better player in the nhl than I thought he would-and I saw a lot of him in junior. Tage is built more like Pete, seems to dangle more than Frank, has a better shot than Pete but not as good as Frank's.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Hmmmmm, I wonder what could possibly be the cause of Tage looking better in recent games...

I don’t know, why don’t you inform us since you seem to know.

 

[Aladyyn]

I don’t know, why don’t you inform us since you seem to know.

I already have.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I already have.

Cool, your one line hidden takes are always appreciated!