Meet Tage Thompson

[GASabresIUFAN]

So...

Sheary - Eichel - Thompson

Berglund - Reinhart - Okposo

Rodrigues - Mittelstadt - Baptiste

Wilson - Sobotka - Girgensons

???

Hello Hughes? :unsure:

Compare the bottom 6 in this lineup vs last year. This is light years better then Pouliot, Josefson, Griffith, Nolan, Moulson and Larsson.

[nfreeman]

Well then there's no point to discussing anything other than being apathetic towards everything until 5 years from now

 

Do you feel confident in at all in anything he's done outside of Dahlin and Mittelstadt? Our best prospects in Rochester this year are all a result of Murray. Every move Botterill has made has been about adding JAG after JAG after JAG.

 

I think the Scandella trade was an excellent move.

 

I think the re-stocking of Rochester has been executed well and will pay dividends.

 

I think the decision to move on from Lehner was the right call (although I'm less sure about Hutton).

 

I think that deciding that the team was fundamentally flawed and needed major changes was a correct, and difficult decision.  Now, whether JB chose the right guys in Kane and ROR to move out remains to be seen -- but they both seem like logical choices to me.

[shrader]

On a good team last year Thompson had 3 goals in 41 games, I hope we do better for Jack and Tage than this scenario. Tage  needs proper development and Jack needs ready players

 

Who was passing to him most of the time?  If he does see some time with Eichel, I think it's safe to say that he wasn't seeing that level of passing up to this point.

[IKnowPhysics]

 

@ByMHarrington

Conference call with Tage Thompson...He says he's happy to get an NHL chance and not be "pigeon-holed" like he was in St. Louis, a veteran team that couldn't tolerate mistakes. Of #Sabres:  "They really have big plans for me here to play a lot and put up points.

 

 

 

Then get here and do it before the entire city figures you for Vyacheslav Kozlov.

[Taro T]

On a good team last year Thompson had 3 goals in 41 games, I hope we do better for Jack and Tage than this scenario. Tage  needs proper development and Jack needs ready players

Agreed. Just trying to figure out where "big plans" & "plenty of points" come from in Buffalo this year. Absolutely am NOT advocating for that lineup. (The "hello Hughes" should've been a give away. ;))

Compare the bottom 6 in this lineup vs last year. This is light years better then Pouliot, Josefson, Griffith, Nolan, Moulson and Larsson.

That bottom 6 absolutely is better than last season. But by enough to offset the top 6 being worse?

[Randall Flagg]

Who was passing to him most of the time?  If he does see some time with Eichel, I think it's safe to say that he wasn't seeing that level of passing up to this point.

Stastny, Berglund, Sobotka I believe were the TOI leaders with him, I looked yesterday. There were another two that had about as many minutes with him as Berglund and Sobotka. 

 

I wouldn't mind sticking him there in preseason to see if he can hang. I don't expect it but would love to be surprised, of course. 

[Gatorman0519]

Jack needs a Kucherov type winger. When we get one of those Jack puts up 100 pets easy.

[Randall Flagg]

Agreed. Just trying to figure out where "big plans" & "plenty of points" come from in Buffalo this year. Absolutely am NOT advocating for that lineup. (The "hello Hughes" should've been a give away. ;))

 

That bottom 6 absolutely is better than last season. But by enough to offset the top 6 being worse?

That's the only big plan that I see happening this year :P 

[WildCard]

I think the Scandella trade was an excellent move.

 

I think the re-stocking of Rochester has been executed well and will pay dividends.

 

I think the decision to move on from Lehner was the right call (although I'm less sure about Hutton).

 

I think that deciding that the team was fundamentally flawed and needed major changes was a correct, and difficult decision.  Now, whether JB chose the right guys in Kane and ROR to move out remains to be seen -- but they both seem like logical choices to me.

1) I agree with Scandella and Rochester

 

2) The Lehner decision was beyond easy. A 4th grader knew that was the right move

 

3) Again, an unbelievably easy decision. Major changes are evident when a team finishes last for the 3rd time in 5 years. It's how he decided to execute those changes that bothers me

[Georgia Blizzard]

 

@ByMHarrington

Conference call with Tage Thompson...He says he's happy to get an NHL chance and not be "pigeon-holed" like he was in St. Louis, a veteran team that couldn't tolerate mistakes. Of #Sabres:  "They really have big plans for me here to play a lot and put up points.

 

 

Not every move is a HR for a GM -- as for J Bot, I've liked besides the Mittlestadt and Dahlin pick:

 

Prospect depth that was added on D (Pilut, Hickey and Samuelsson)

Undid the Goalie mistake GMTM made (Lehner), signed Hutton to give Ullmark right NHL development path and added depth in prospect pool with UPL

Scandella trade

Adding Sheary for a conditonal 4th

Strengthening Rochester to create winning culture in AHL and proper development time for prospects

 

Not crazy about . . . you can fill in the blanks

[dudacek]

Stastny, Berglund, Sobotka I believe were the TOI leaders with him, I looked yesterday. There were another two that had about as many minutes with him as Berglund and Sobotka. 

 

I wouldn't mind sticking him there in preseason to see if he can hang. I don't expect it but would love to be surprised, of course.

 

I think he was used much like Baptiste and Bailey were used - as a bottom-sixer away from prime offensive situations and the Blues best players.

 

We’ve long lamented the lack of wingers for Jack.

I suspect Sheary and Thompson may have been targeted specifically with that in mind.

[Hoss]

On a good team last year Thompson had 3 goals in 41 games, I hope we do better for Jack and Tage than this scenario. Tage needs proper development and Jack needs ready players

“Proper development” is very different for every player. The only time I’ve ever heard somebody talk about “proper development” on this site is in the context of either forcing a player through one to three years in the AHL or playing sheltered minutes. There are other ways.

It’s also fun when a prospect gets to the big club but ends up on the third or fourth line and everybody screams about how they’re being wasted because they’re not getting enough minutes with top talent.

 

I think Thompson will start in Buffalo in the top six or third line at worst, and I look forward to it.

[shrader]

Stastny, Berglund, Sobotka I believe were the TOI leaders with him, I looked yesterday. There were another two that had about as many minutes with him as Berglund and Sobotka. 

 

I wouldn't mind sticking him there in preseason to see if he can hang. I don't expect it but would love to be surprised, of course. 

 

And it could take a year or two before he gets to that point.  But if the kid does have the good shot that has been mentioned, I want to see it tested.  I'm convinced that Jack could put the puck on even a Gerbe-sized stick.  Now let's just find someone who can do something with that.

[Randall Flagg]

I think he was used much like Baptiste and Bailey were used - as a bottom-sixer away from prime offensive situations and the Blues best players.

 

We’ve long lamented the lack of wingers for Jack.

I suspect Sheary and Thompson may have been targeted specifically with that in mind.

Conventional thinking hasn't worked with Jack, and those two have very bizarre and specific and different skill sets, so it's definitely going to be interesting to watch. Jack's wings have low-key been a huge area of unknown and instability as far as our future goes. 

[Hoss]

Stastny, Berglund, Sobotka I believe were the TOI leaders with him, I looked yesterday. There were another two that had about as many minutes with him as Berglund and Sobotka.

 

I wouldn't mind sticking him there in preseason to see if he can hang. I don't expect it but would love to be surprised, of course.

He spent over 50% of his time with Sobotka, Jaskin, Berglund, Magnus Paajarvi, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev (21% with the first two).

[Randall Flagg]

“Proper development” is very different for every player. The only time I’ve ever heard somebody talk about “proper development” on this site is in the context of either forcing a player through one to three years in the AHL or playing sheltered minutes. There are other ways.

It’s also fun when a prospect gets to the big club but ends up on the third or fourth line and everybody screams about how they’re being wasted because they’re not getting enough minutes with top talent.

 

I think Thompson will start in Buffalo in the top six or third line at worst, and I look forward to it.

You're not wrong, and I don't watch Tage, but I'm going off of what the Blues world has said of him being rushed into a role that wasn't as demanding of production as the one we'd like to see in an ideal world. Proper development might have him on Jack's wing in October, I won't discount that, but I would place my money on something different, and my doubts on an organization that's displayed the development nuance of a moldy log on the forest floor during my time as a fan. 

He spent over 50% of his time with Sobotka, Jaskin, Berglund, Magnus Paajarvi, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev (21% with the first two).

I flipped Stastny and Sobotka in my mind, because I had looked that up at like 2 am. 

 

Makes sense. He was used like Baptiste but on a decent team, which I think duda mentioned

[Doohicksie]

We also have no idea how JB ranked STL's prospects.  It's quite possible Thompson was his #1 (or #2 or #3 or whatever).

 

It might not be that Thompson is #1 in general; he could have been #1 to JBot because of what he is projected to bring.  He could be a top six trigger man; Lord knows we need that.  JBot might have felt he had the best shot of the St. Louis prospects and gravitated toward him.  If he plans to park him in the slot on the PP, his size is also an advantage.  So no, maybe not the #1 Blues prospect, but the best prospect for the hole JBot wants to fill.

Maybe JBot pictures home not so much Taylor Pyatt, but more Thomas Holmstrom.

[LTS]

Then get here and do it before the entire city figures you for Vyacheslav Kozlov.

 

He can't.  The Internet moves too fast.  Everyone literally sucks before they can do anything.

[stuuuuuuuuu]

The Blues and Minnesota played a preseason game at sprint center in KC last year.  FWIW I had no idea who Thompson was but left the game thinking that he was going to be a difference maker.  His hands and shot were clearly a step above the Thorburn and Chris Stewart types who were in the game.  His raw talent level made him stick out.

 

The keyword here is RAW.  There were times where he tried to dangle or do to much with the puck.  He also clearly needed to bulk up.  

 

A year of playing disciplined, bottom six minutes on a defensive team should be prove to be beneficial.  He struck me as a player at the NHL level who should be able to flash his offensive upside a few times a game but needed to learn how to play a simple north / south game in between those chances to strike.

 

If he does this he will be a shooter who is capable of positively contributing to possession on the cycle as well as plant in the slot for rebounds and tips.

 

His upside is likely Johan Franzen.  I do not think he has the temperament to slot in as a big fourth liner if he doesn't blossom as a scorer.  3 years from now he's either a top 6 NHL forward or an AHL all star.

[Doohicksie]

I think he was used much like Baptiste and Bailey were used - as a bottom-sixer away from prime offensive situations and the Blues best players.

 

We’ve long lamented the lack of wingers for Jack.

I suspect Sheary and Thompson may have been targeted specifically with that in mind.

 

Per DailyFaceoff, the Blues second PP forwards were Berglund, Sobotka and Thompson at the end of the season.  I find it interesting that they are all Sabres now.  As for whether Sheary and Thompson are penciled in as Jack's wingers, I don't think that's the case but I think JBot brought them in to give them a shot at it.  It's the whole "bring in enough talent, some of it will stick" mentality that means every acquisition doesn't have to be a home run.  Bring in players with potential and the ones who excel will get rewarded and the team benefits.

[Utica Club]

9 points in 41 games doesn't make me think he's a lock for the top 6.  

 

But he is among the top 6 most attractive looking, hockey aside.

[North Buffalo]

9 points in 41 games doesn't make me think he's a lock for the top 6.

 

But he is among the top 6 most attractive looking, hockey aside.

Welcome aboard... stay around for the season.

 

PS with this comment, you will fit right in here..lol

Edited July 2, 2018 by North Buffalo

[bunomatic]

Not crazy about his parents choice of names. Quick, somebody slap them. 

 

Someone upthread said he had like 12 minutes a game on a strong Blues squad. Hopefully they throw him into some situations that weren't coming his way on the Blues so he gains some confidence. He's 20. Give him a chance.

[inkman]

Not crazy about his parents choice of names. Quick, somebody slap them.

 

Someone upthread said he had like 12 minutes a game on a strong Blues squad. Hopefully they throw him into some situations that weren't coming his way on the Blues so he gains some confidence. He's 20. Give him a chance.

He should get some PP time with his shot

[Formerly Allan in MD]

He is Taylor Pyatt reincarnated.

Whatever you say.  Apparently, you've done significant research and are a true expert.

9 points in 41 games doesn't make me think he's a lock for the top 6.  

 

But he is among the top 6 most attractive looking, hockey aside.

He played on a bottom tier line and less than 10 minutes a game.  It's a hell of a way to rack up points and gain experience.