Tage Thompson's Upside? What Do You Think?

[Weave]

21 minutes ago, dudacek said:

The way he's playing right now reminds me of Jeff Carter a bit, but I don't really want to go there.

How about Adam Creighton? Similar size and development curve, although Tage is a much better skater.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=1157

 

Hmm…. I don’t hate this comparison.

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, inkman said:

As we saw with Jack and Evander, not all players mesh well on the ice no matter the skill level. Tage could use a great passer and a mucker on his wings.  Are those players on the roster? Idk, Asplund is enoug of a mucker and a good enough passer to work effectively with Tage.  Olofsson wasn’t bad in that spot.  

Olofsson was excellent there, even though his brain buddy is more Aspy.

Can't wait to get him back on that line, and hopeful Mitts is better equipped to be Skinner's foil.

Edited November 10, 2021 by dudacek

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I think Tage would benefit by having a better passing winger than Skinner there. Not sure if its fair or not, but I view Skinner as a drag on others players production. He's been passing better lately, but a play maker he is not. 

Perhaps a better representation of the unicorn Jack's on ice talent represented than even his raw totals

[Doohicksie]

38 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I think Tage would benefit by having a better passing winger than Skinner there. Not sure if its fair or not, but I view Skinner as a drag on others players production. He's been passing better lately, but a play maker he is not. 

This is true, but if Tage can unlock Skinner's scoring prowess it will be worth it.

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Sample size, but by the eyeball test he is a legit 2-way play driver right now and has been every game.

Right now he is a walking advertisement for the benefits of size. He’s making good decisions, playing with authority and using that frame to beat guys on both sides of the puck.

Not making any predictions, but when you flush a roster like we have, you hope and expect that some players will step up, fill the gaps and become more than they were. That’s been Thompson and Asplund.

Interesting to see where this goes.

Which is the biggest piece of this informing that @The Ghost of Yuri might be onto something regarding his comfort level with & understanding of the center position.  Thompson looked absolutely idiotic (at best) when playing W and he has been 1 of their best F's at C.  (Limited sample size & 2 F's that are better are out w/ injuries, but still.  Like the Labatt's bear: did NOT see that coming.)

[Curt]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I'll take your word for it, but I had thought 27-28 was the prime years. Perhaps that's how it use to be...League getting younger all the time 

Not true.  The NHL is not getting younger all the time.  It’s gotten significantly older since the 1980’s, and stayed mostly the same for the past 20 years.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/soundofhockey.com/2021/02/27/data-dump-saturday-ages-of-nhl-players/amp/

[Doohicksie]

Before the season started I said I expected 30 goals out of him at 1C.  I'd be happy with 20 and operating as a top-6 C, but really he's closer to my fantasy prediction than I would have guessed.

[PickaPecaPickles]

From my position, as someone who is watching for the entertainment aspect of the sport, with no experience playing it, he has become the most entertaining player to watch.  It seems almost every shift he is creating a chance for his line.  Relatedly, Cozens is starting to make more noticeable plays, certainly not as often as TT though.

[inkman]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

I thought the Washington game was pure Skinner.

There were moments when he was pinballing around, creating havoc and manufacturing offence out of chaos.

And there were moments when Thompson and Asplund were creating more conventional offence and the play completely died because Skinner wasn't where he was supposed to be, or flubbed the puck when they moved it to him.

I would be so frustrated having him as a linemate.

It’s why Jeff continues to be an enigma.  He just doesn’t play within a system.  Feel like Meatballs system (or lack there of) will benefit him.  We’ve seen some good results.  Putting him with guys who create and expect their teammates to do what they might do in any given situation isn’t going to work. It’s why he was playing with scrubs in Carolina and why Ralph hated him.  Jeff is an NHL player but it’s challenging to put him in a position to succeed without being a detriment to the team. I think Granato figured it out when his team is healthy. 

[tom webster]

5 hours ago, dudacek said:

The way he's playing right now reminds me of Jeff Carter a bit, but I don't really want to go there.

How about Adam Creighton? Similar size and development curve, although Tage is a much better skater.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=1157

 

Boy, this sounds familiar.

[K-9]

Didn’t see an option for “Hall of Famer” so I declined to answer. 

[dudacek]

44 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Boy, this sounds familiar.

The Creignton comparison?

Or were you touting Tage to take this step all along?

I honestly don’t remember.

[tom webster]

33 minutes ago, dudacek said:

The Creignton comparison?

Or were you touting Tage to take this step all along?

I honestly don’t remember.

Honestly, I’ve made that comparison so much, and I’m old, so I can’t definitively tell you I ever posted that here or had that conversation over a steak sandwich and a Heineken.

[Pimlach]

I think Tage is going to keep improving.   He needs to play on a good team and hopefully that us us.  He, probably is best as a winger/power forward but he is doing an admirable job as a center.  As he ages he is going to get more grizzled and even stronger.  He should continue to learn how to make room for himself to take that killer shot.  
 

He will continue to get better.  
 

[kas23]

8 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I think Tage would benefit by having a better passing winger than Skinner there. Not sure if its fair or not, but I view Skinner as a drag on others players production. He's been passing better lately, but a play maker he is not. 

I get it, but do you need to go rewatch that Skinner-assisted goal by Tage in Detroit?

[Taro T]

22 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I get it, but do you need to go rewatch that Skinner-assisted goal by Tage in Detroit?

You mean the one that went exactly to where Thompson was because it hit the goalie's skate on the way through his 5 hole?

PS - Game was in Buffalo vs Detroit.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Taro T

[PerreaultForever]

3rd line center. 20ish goal scorer. better than I expected from last year. 

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

He, probably is best as a winger/power forward but he is doing an admirable job as a center.

Nope.  His mind is that of a center.  He was terrible at wing and never got better.

27 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I get it, but do you need to go rewatch that Skinner-assisted goal by Tage in Detroit?

Yeah, it's not great but Skinner has better chemistry with Tage than any other center the Sabres have right now.

[Curt]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

3rd line center. 20ish goal scorer. better than I expected from last year. 

How many 20 goal scoring 3rd line centers are there in the league?

[tom webster]

3 minutes ago, Curt said:

How many 20 goal scoring 3rd line centers are there in the league?

Peter McNabb 42 years ago. Perreault seems not to have noticed the game has changed. I’m not sure there are more then a handful of 2nd line centers consistently scoring 20.

[dudacek]

19 minutes ago, Curt said:

How many 20 goal scoring 3rd line centers are there in the league?

To be 3rd-line forward statistically, you would have to rank between 180 and 270 amongst all goal scorers.

Going back to 2019, the last full season, the 181st ranked forward, Derek Brassard, had 14 goals. The 270th, Riley Sheahan, had 9.

20 goals put you in a tie for 113th with guys like Blake Wheeler and David Krecji. In other words, a good 2nd liner.

These ain’t your father’s hockey cards.

[Marvin]

I am just glad he is on an upward trajectory.

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, Curt said:

How many 20 goal scoring 3rd line centers are there in the league?

You mean besides Tage?

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Curt said:

How many 20 goal scoring 3rd line centers are there in the league?

I sort of meant the most you'll see. maybe some 2nd unit PP time and such. Trying to be optimistic. Hoping that the prospects pan out and the top two lines are quite good and thus the current Thompson line could be moved down to being a 3rd line. If you think that way, we could actually turn into a really dynamic team. Dream baby dream!!!!!!!!!!

[Broken Ankles]

14 hours ago, Thorny said:

Asplund could be another, already better than Larsson. And I loved me some Larsson

Defensively responsible like son of Lars, but superior on offense in every way.  His one-timer on the PP in Anaheim.   😮

Tage has definitely raised eyebrows this season.  His play against a good Caps team was encouraging.

Fun fact - Because of their unusual shape, giraffes have a highly-specialized cardiovascular system that starts with an enormous heart. It's two feet long and weighs up to 25 pounds.  Let’s hope Tage’s proverbial heart is as big.