Regarding Thompson:
Look around the AHL. Tell us what coaches are "creating" NHLers left and right. Or even at a regular and reliable pace.
I think Thompson is very respected around the pro development community and compares favorably in the grand scheme of things.
And if we're playing the "who has he coached who made it to the NHL" game, the list is very positive in comparison to most of his peers.
BUT what we don't take into consideration are how easy it is for the organization to work with him and how little stress they have him as an important member of the personnel chain. That kind of thing plays a role and likely is very much a reason why they're in NO rush to part ways with him.
This all said, some guys are on their way to the NHL one way or another while others are not, regardless of where they're drafted. Others need molding and slow maturing over the course of 2-3 AHL seasons. When we see what Pulock, Pelech, Mayfield, and Toews are doing, that ALONE would be an argument to have this guy keep doing whatever he's doing down there.
I know that I have no worries about Aho, Hutton, Wotherspoon, Vande Sompel, and - at some point - Wilde. If they've got what it takes to be an NHLer, he's busy doing what's necessary to get them ready to be just that.
As for forwards, I've sometimes had my worries, but Lee, Nelson, Cizikas, and Martin were all guys who spent a good chunk of time with Thompson before becoming NHLers. Nielsen too. And Okposo a little bit as well, and that was despite the "turmoil" surrounding his being pulled out of college.
I think Wahlstrom will be very Ok. And Koivula sure isn't suffering by being under Thompson's tutelage.
