Player Discussion Tage Thompson 1

[Heretic]

Maybe it's the height but my first thought was "he looks like Dainius Zubrus out there on the highlights." I like the JVR/Jamie Benn comparisons (obviously) I'm actually a little more excited about this prospect a day later and after watching some footage.

 

[Dex]

A top 6 opportunity is just that - an opportunity to win a spot. If you don't hake advantage of the opportunity, then you don't play in the top 6.

I have not heard that he as been gifted a spot or demanded a spot. The kid seems like a very nice kid who is happy to be on the Sabres. The reports I've read on the net and the St Louis posters who have come over here have all been favorable. The clips I've seen have been good. What's not to like at this point?

 

[Husko]

Since when did anyone start believing a single thing Hamilton says? Especially when he doesn’t even use quotation marks...

 

[Snippit]

From The Athletic:

Oh, really! Just when a trade for Ryan O'Reilly looked dead,...

Armstrong was somehow able to make the deal without giving up the Blues’ top prospects: Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Klim Kostin.

“I know Buffalo is really excited about Tage Thompson,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t want to give Tage up, either, but we do value Robert Thomas as a centerman. I think I’ve been pretty consistent for a while that we weren’t trading him until we know exactly what he can do because center icemen are hard to find. And Kyrou is a player that really excites us just with his speed. You have to give to get, and giving up Tage was difficult, but we’re excited about our return.”

Thompson, 20, was the Blues’ first-round pick in 2016. He played 41 NHL games as a rookie last season out of necessity and had his moments, registering three goals and nine points. But the 6-foot-5, 205-pound right winger also showed some flaws that might have worried the Blues.

“Tage, listen, I think he’s got potential,” said Corey Pronman, The Athletic‘s prospect guru. “I think he might be a second-line forward one day. He’s 6-foot-5, he’s got high-end puck skills, a high-end shot, makes plays. But he doesn’t play with pace, he takes shifts off here and there, and he’s got some room to develop. I think with Buffalo, he’ll be a potential second-line, third-line guy, play some power play. That’s what I see him topping out as. You didn’t want to lose Thomas, and you didn’t want to lose Kyrou. Those are the two big pieces, and you couldn’t lose either two of those guys, particularly Thomas. I did not see any way they could have included him.”

The potential to top out as a 2nd or 3rd line winger...great.

Why did we do this trade again?

 

[Dingo44]

The potential to top out as a 2nd or 3rd line winger...great.

Why did we do this trade again?

Because the Sabres don't rely on Pronman for their scouting?

 

[Snippit]

Because the Sabres don't rely on Pronman for their scouting?

Most Blues fans have the same take. They see a middle six winger in the future at most.

Sorry, but that's not the kind of guy I want as the centre piece in the ROR deal. It's ridiculously bad.

The only thing I can think of is that ROR was an actual problem in the locker room..otherwise there's truly no justification for this.

 

[Dingo44]

Most Blues fans have the same take. They see a middle six winger in the future at most.

Sorry, but that's not the kind of guy I want as the centre piece in the ROR deal. It's ridiculously bad.

The only thing I can think of is that ROR was an actual problem in the locker room..otherwise there's truly no justification for this.

Well apparently Botts and the Sabres scouting staff see it differently. Here's hoping they're right.

 

[dkollidas]

Most Blues fans have the same take. They see a middle six winger in the future at most.

Sorry, but that's not the kind of guy I want as the centre piece in the ROR deal. It's ridiculously bad.

The only thing I can think of is that ROR was an actual problem in the locker room..otherwise there's truly no justification for this.

Darcy used to win all the trades. It was great. I remember how excited I was when we traded Kassian for a legit top-6 center in Cody Hodgson...

I remember how we got the best player in a massive trade for Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian...

And I also remember how great Mike Peca was after we traded him to the Islanders...

Not saying this won’t turn out the same way. But to get 5 pieces for one player, one being a middle-6 forward, a gritty bottom-6 forward, a first and second round pick, along with a prospect (who they view as a potential “fit” as a line mate with their young Center men), is what it is. Not the best return, but acting like we got burned so badly is ridiculously.

Also take into account that the Pegula’s finally made a move to save themselves a bit of cash. They’ve been paying Marrone/Brandon/Rex Ryan/Bylsma/Ehrhoff/Hodgson/Leino/Nolan... I understand their billionaires and can afford to spend the $7.5M... kinda like I can afford a $750 bill if I have to for something I get screwed on. I’ll survive. But if I can find a way to save it while I’ve been getting hit for $100-$300 continuously for stuff that doesn’t work, it might be nice to save some cash.


Sorry, I’m probably off-topic. Basically what I’m trying to say is... give the kid a chance. Big body, good shot. Let’s see if he can develop some chemistry with Eichel or Mitts.

 

[Lloydchristmas138]

Reminds me of Bjugstad with a better shot

 

[Sabre the Win]

The potential to top out as a 2nd or 3rd line winger...great.

Why did we do this trade again?

Because Botterill

 

[EastonBlues22]

Not a huge fan of 19/20 yr olds complaining about ice time...

HERE's the link to the full Hamilton article with the quotes in context.

It doesn't sound to me like he's complaining about anything, but you can judge for yourself.

 

[Rasmus CacOlainen]

So he may actually be used as LW. I am excited, we need someone that can score goals to play on the left. And that maybe leaves spots for both Bailey and Baptiste on the right.
I am cool with 19-20 top 6 of:
Tage-Jack-Sam
Olofsson-Casey-Okposo/Bailey/Baptiste/Nylander

....if bith Tage and Olofsson manage to nail a spot by then.

 

[old kummelweck]

Since when did anyone start believing a single thing Hamilton says? Especially when he doesn’t even use quotation marks...

Hamilton offers a little balance to some of the fanatic opinions are WGR. He also has access to the locker room and coaching staff that no one else seems to have. When he's wrong about something, he'll admit he's wrong.

 

[old kummelweck]

I don't read anything Thompson said as a guaranteed spot. "An opportunity" is nothing more than a promise that he'll be given a fair evaluation during training camp as their are openings. I think we all know this leadership team well enough to know they aren't promising anyone anything. I don't think they even told Hutton he's the starter over Ullmark.

 

[CaptPantalones]

Thought about that today, went 5.

Dahlin
Mitts
Guhle
Nylander
Thompson
Asplund
.....

Hes light years ahead of nylander unless alex has a bang out preseason

Dahlin
Middlestadt
Guhle
Thompson
Asplund
Olofsson
Nylander

 

[Icicle]

I don't read anything Thompson said as a guaranteed spot. "An opportunity" is nothing more than a promise that he'll be given a fair evaluation during training camp as their are openings. I think we all know this leadership team well enough to know they aren't promising anyone anything. I don't think they even told Hutton he's the starter over Ullmark.

Hutton made it clear in his interviews. His job is to shelter Ullmark- meaning he will likely get majority starts for first year maybe two, but eventually pass the baton to his mentee.

 

[Club]

The potential to top out as a 2nd or 3rd line winger...great.

Why did we do this trade again?

I get your angry (as you've made 6 or 7 posts on the matter) Tage rounds out maybe as a 2nd or 3rd line winger. ROR was at best a 2nd line center. He had great peripherals, don't get me wrong. I loved ROR, thought he was a great overall player. But with his comments at seasons end, he clearly wasn't happy. If he tones down his self blame every time his team loses, he'll be fine nonetheless


I see Tage as a 50 point guy if he works out, plus we get a 1st round pick which should be middle to low end, and I love Berglund as well. Sobotka also brings edge which we need.

ROR will be 28 next year, so him and Berglund are pretty much 2 years apart. And you've made a prior post saying something on the lines of "we traded for old guys" so I think that's irrelevant.

In regards to former deals..

>

2015 draft he was traded (relevant) for Compher who's a decent player, 31 OA, and Zadorov.

In comparison to that trade, I think we made out pretty good.

Time will tell how this trade fits for both teams.

Not trying to be a dink, just my 2 cents on how I view this trade and your opinion.

 

[Jim Bob]

Apparently it turns him into a beanstalk

I wonder if he's so skinny because he's a vegan?

 

[Sabre the Win]

Hes light years ahead of nylander unless alex has a bang out preseason

Dahlin
Middlestadt
Guhle
Thompson
Asplund
Olofsson
Nylander

Classic case of shiny new toy syndrome

 

[Sabre the Win]

In regards to former deals..

>

2015 draft he was traded (relevant) for Compher who's a decent player, 31 OA, and Zadorov.

In comparison to that trade, I think we made out pretty good.

Time will tell how this trade fits for both teams.

Not trying to be a dink, just my 2 cents on how I view this trade and your opinion.

Colorado made out pretty good. They got speed, youth and a top 4 D for ROR.. We got age 30 guys on long terms that were viewed as cap dumps who Blues fans were thrilled to get rid of and one kid that doesn't fit the idea of the 'we need to get faster up front' mold with a bunch of 2023 futures.

 

[Zippy Chippy]

I don't read anything Thompson said as a guaranteed spot. "An opportunity" is nothing more than a promise that he'll be given a fair evaluation during training camp as their are openings. I think we all know this leadership team well enough to know they aren't promising anyone anything. I don't think they even told Hutton he's the starter over Ullmark.

It's because you can't read between the lines.

Read again until you find a narrative you want to push.

 

[joshjull]

Colorado made out pretty good. They got speed, youth and a top 4 D for ROR.. We got age 30 guys on long terms that were viewed as cap dumps who Blues fans were thrilled to get rid of and one kid that doesn't fit the idea of the 'we need to get faster up front' mold with a bunch of 2023 futures.

They did but that didn't really start to play out until this year with Zads/Compher. We wont know for a few years what the longer terms assets acquired (Thompson, 1st rounder and 2nd rounder) are giving us

 

[Husko]

Hamilton offers a little balance to some of the fanatic opinions are WGR. He also has access to the locker room and coaching staff that no one else seems to have. When he's wrong about something, he'll admit he's wrong.

What are you talking about? He’s a schmuck with zero journalistic integrity that has been caught in blatant lies and never once admitted he’s wrong. He’s literally worse than the clowns at TBN.

 

[old kummelweck]

It's because you can't read between the lines.

Read again until you find a narrative you want to push.

I don't understand this comment. What narrative am I pushing? I merely indicated that Hamilton has insider information due to his proximity to the team locker room and the sabres org.

Now if you want to argue that he's a sabres shill, that would make sense to me since he works for WGR and wants to maintain his access.

 

[old kummelweck]

What are you talking about? He’s a schmuck with zero journalistic integrity that has been caught in blatant lies and never once admitted he’s wrong. He’s literally worse than the clowns at TBN.

like? Is he lying about something related to ROR to push an agenda?