RW Tage Thompson - UConn, NCAA (2016, 26th, STL)

[Jaykay]

Signed with the Blues today.

 

[Shwabeal]

 

[SI90]

Congrats to Tage. Although he was born on Long Island he lived and played a lot of youth hockey here. I wish him nothing but the best. I'd imagine he's going to report straight to the AHL?

 

[Oberyn]

Congrats to Tage. Although he was born on Long Island he lived and played a lot of youth hockey here. I wish him nothing but the best. I'd imagine he's going to report straight to the AHL?

Yeah his ELC doesn't kick in until next season. He's joining the Wolves on an ATO I believe. The Blues did the same thing when they signed Parayko.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

Wow. I can't believe he didn't get the ELC burn if he pushed for it. Nice job by the Blues.

 

[Maple Leaves]

Will definitely be interesting to see how Tage fares in the AHL. The big knock on him going into the draft was that 13 of his 14 goals last year were PPG but he put up 19 this year with only 7 being on the PP and had a pretty solid WJC.

 

[Plager05]

Will definitely be interesting to see how Tage fares in the AHL. The big knock on him going into the draft was that 13 of his 14 goals last year were PPG but he put up 19 this year with only 7 being on the PP and had a pretty solid WJC.

Wasn't really a real knock on him either, just something people not paying enough attention were saying. It was just how his season played out as the best player on a pretty bad team.

 

[MMC]

How was his season and far is he from being NHL ready?

 

[L13]

How was his season and far is he from being NHL ready?

Very far.

I don't understand why he's going pro now, to be honest.

 

[MMC]

Does anyone know anything about his brother Tyce Thompson and how good of a prospect he is?

 

[hradekbr]

Does anyone know anything about his brother Tyce Thompson and how good of a prospect he is?

Not very big. He's so much smaller than his brother and doesn't have the tools he has either. He's relatively quick but his body just isn't where it needs to be when you have skills like he does.

 

[Passchendaele]

Very far.

I don't understand why he's going pro now, to be honest.

$

Kid should have stayed in college. He's not a Keller-level prospect.

 

[joshyhockey26]

$

Kid should have stayed in college. He's not a Keller-level prospect.

Having watched almost every pro game he's played so far I wouldn't say he should have stayed in college. He was never going to be the best player on the ice as a professional anyways. The skill is there he just needs to add some weight to his size as he loses out on puck battles at times. But besides that he's just another young player whose adjusting to the pro game. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[tfriede2]

Thompson finished as the Traverse City tournament point leader with 9 (4 goals, 5 assists in 4 games). I read (haven't confirmed) that this is the most points since James Neal, who also had 9 points, in 2008. Don't think he's ready for the NHL yet - needs a year in the AHL; but he looks like a promising top 6 scoring winger prospect.

 

[BlueDream]

Just goes to show how quickly things change. I wouldn't say Thompson is "very far" from the NHL. I'd say in one year he could win a spot out of camp.

 

[rumrokh]

Just goes to show how quickly things change. I wouldn't say Thompson is "very far" from the NHL. I'd say in one year he could win a spot out of camp.

Maybe it's less about change and more about the armchair opinions.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Just goes to show how quickly things change. I wouldn't say Thompson is "very far" from the NHL. I'd say in one year he could win a spot out of camp.

I'd be shocked if he wasn't a Blue opening night of next year. He COULD win a spot at some point this year.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

I'd be shocked if he wasn't a Blue opening night of next year. He COULD win a spot at some point this year.

Well he didn't do much to impress at the pro level at the end of last year. His shot is about the only thing I can say with confidence is NHL ready. His play with the puck needs to be simplified, his ability to open up lanes needs to be improved, and he just generally needs to adapt to what a professional atmosphere is like. Also, having a new, monstrous workload will most likely wreak havoc on him throughout the upcoming season.

I'm not saying it's unreasonable to project him on the roster as soon as late this season. I'm just playing devil's advocate here.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

First career goal

 

[frisco]

Is he still a prospect? I know he's out for the year with shoulder surgery...

My Best-Carey

 

[Chainshot]

Is he still a prospect? I know he's out for the year with shoulder surgery...

My Best-Carey

Yeah I would say he is. The Sabres finally wised up and sent him down late in the season and he did what they asked down on the farm -- PK, PP, ES offensive generation, the works. He then took his summer very seriously with his strength and conditioning, coming in to the prospect orientation camp looked at as a leader (by all accounts he was) and in great shape. He then spent the rest of the summer building himself up further. He started the season in Rochester in similar fashion to how he ended it the year before - very good play and starting to round his game into something other than a gangly one-trick pony. The team then hit injuries, called him up, and with a minute left in his first recall game, he blew out his shoulder. I'm curious to see how this setback impacts him. He's had a great attitude and work ethic to what has happened prior. It's on the team for throwing him into the deep end and leaving him far too long last season, but they seem to have learned from that.

I'm mildly hopeful he can turn out to be something in a middle 6 winger with some PK and PP2 chops. But only mildly as shoulder stuff likely undoes much of his strength training from last year, as well as any linger issues that can crop up there.