Tage Thompson's Upside? What Do You Think?

[Curt]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

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!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I agree.  Just thought your phrasing was strange since there really is no such thing as a 20 goal 3C.  That player is probably a top 6 quality player.

If you meant that Tage is capable of being a 20ish goal scorer (over the past two seasons he already has been), but hopefully he gets bumped down to the 3rd line when more prospects develop, that kind of makes more sense.

What do you think about Tage’s defense?  I think it’s been alright.

If he is able to keep up the level of play that he has shown so far under Granato, then I think he is showing himself to be a top 6 quality forward, or at least someone who can be a middle 6 guy on a good team.

[bob_sauve28]

10 hours ago, kas23 said:

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

I did say he was trying to pass more. Yes, that was a good one. Just think a more consistent passer would be better. 

 

I really like Skinner on the wing with Okposo and Girgs, but Donny G didn’t let that experiment last long. 

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I really like Skinner on the wing with Okposo and Girgs, but Donny G didn’t let that experiment last long. 

At some point you give up, but at his salary Donny's trying to get offensive production out of Skinner and I don't blame him.  So far he looks most promising on Tage's wing.

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

At some point you give up, but at his salary Donny's trying to get offensive production out of Skinner and I don't blame him.  So far he looks most promising on Tage's wing.

Well, who knows? Maybe (MAYBE!) Mitts and Olli come back in line up soon. That will require shifting people around and who knows where they end up. I get @Taro T's point that Skinner could be a defensive liability with Grigs and Okposo, but I still think its the best place for him. 

[Drag0nDan]

On 11/10/2021 at 11:10 AM, The Ghost of Yuri said:

I also think Skinner is getting better chances playing on Tage's wing.

Skinner is an interesting player - not great defensively or even on the walls really - but he seems to just find loose pucks.  That works on a line with a couple of shoot first players honestly.  Oloffson probably works there too - but I'd like to see what a healthy first line looks like with him on it.

5 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I did say he was trying to pass more. Yes, that was a good one. Just think a more consistent passer would be better. 

 

I really like Skinner on the wing with Okposo and Girgs, but Donny G didn’t let that experiment last long. 

Its the same reason he works on the tage line - he's on a line with a couple of net drivers and players who can dig pucks out in the forecheck.  He's got that nose for the net that just seems to spring open at times.  I think they're set with Eakin centering that - but who knows how long that lasts.  

[Thorny]

6 hours ago, Curt said:

Yeah, I agree.  Just thought your phrasing was strange since there really is no such thing as a 20 goal 3C.  That player is probably a top 6 quality player.

If you meant that Tage is capable of being a 20ish goal scorer (over the past two seasons he already has been), but hopefully he gets bumped down to the 3rd line when more prospects develop, that kind of makes more sense.

What do you think about Tage’s defense?  I think it’s been alright.

If he is able to keep up the level of play that he has shown so far under Granato, then I think he is showing himself to be a top 6 quality forward, or at least someone who can be a middle 6 guy on a good team.

I also chuckle when people leave out "assists", especially for a C. 20 goals doesn't make you an exceptional 3C if you have like...15 assists. He'd be a good one, though. Playoff team caliber 3C, maybe. 

He has 3 assists so far this season. 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Thorny

[Thorny]

11 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

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. 

Oh ya, he's well ahead offensively. 

Larsson was one of the best defensive F in the game while here, though, according to my interpretation of the stats. I do think Asplund has a ways to go in that area, still, even being generally defensively responsible already. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He's tall and if he puts on some more muscle I think he could end up being a good top 6 winger, but I like that he is being played at 'C' now.

 

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, Curt said:

Yeah, I agree.  Just thought your phrasing was strange since there really is no such thing as a 20 goal 3C.  That player is probably a top 6 quality player.

If you meant that Tage is capable of being a 20ish goal scorer (over the past two seasons he already has been), but hopefully he gets bumped down to the 3rd line when more prospects develop, that kind of makes more sense.

What do you think about Tage’s defense?  I think it’s been alright.

If he is able to keep up the level of play that he has shown so far under Granato, then I think he is showing himself to be a top 6 quality forward, or at least someone who can be a middle 6 guy on a good team.

Yup, that's pretty much what I meant. 

His defense has been better. I was skeptical at first but I really think that shift to center (accidental by need perhaps) has been genius. He still doesn't use his big body to hit much or muscle people out of the way or anything but in the middle he's really using that reach and taking up a lot of ice making it hard for people to move around him and he gets pucks off of them often, it's quite effective and teams have to try to pass around that obstacle. It looks awkward at times, but it works. 

[PickaPecaPickles]

On 11/10/2021 at 3:49 PM, PickaPecaPickles said:

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.

He certainly made himself noticeable last night!  And entertaining. Two 👍👍

[Flashsabre]

 Best player on the ice tonight against the Leafs.

[Huckleberry]

 

After 2 minutes they start talking about thompson.

[bob_sauve28]

54 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

 

After 2 minutes they start talking about thompson.

Allison played parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings where, for a brief time, he teamed with former stars Žigmund Pálffy and Adam Deadmarsh. He has also played for the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. His best season was 2000–01when he had 95 points. Allison has played 552 games in his career, racking up 154 goals and 331 assists for 485 points. He also has 25 points in 25 career playoff games. Allison missed most of the 2002–03 season and all of the following seasonbecause of a neck injury and concussion.

[Flashsabre]

I’m envisioning a future in which the Sabres are in the playoffs and they are rolling out a 6’7 offensive centre who is an absolute matchup nightmare for opposing teams.😀

[LGR4GM]

On 11/11/2021 at 12:43 PM, The Ghost of Doohickie said:

He's tall and if he puts on some more muscle I think he could end up being a good top 6 winger, but I like that he is being played at 'C' now.

 

Duffer and Biron noted that Tage has been more effective using his reach in the middle of the ice where he has more room to maneuver. 

[pi2000]

He's unique.   I can't say there's ever been a guy with his size who plays a high level skill game.   

He needs to get better at faceoffs... in fact with the leverage he can create he should be dominating the faceoff dot (he's currently at 39%).

Defensively he's fine, +4 TRpm.

 

[Taro T]

21 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

He's unique.   I can't say there's ever been a guy with his size who plays a high level skill game.   

He needs to get better at faceoffs... in fact with the leverage he can create he should be dominating the faceoff dot (he's currently at 39%).

Defensively he's fine, +4 TRpm.

 

Slightly shorter, but solider: Mario Lemieux.

[Curt]

20 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Slightly shorter, but solider: Mario Lemieux.

He was certainly big and used his size, but still 3 inches shorter than Thompson.

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, Curt said:

He was certainly big and used his size, but still 3 inches shorter than Thompson.

Well, if you're limiting it to guys that are 6'7", your pool of candidates is SEVERELY limited.  Have there even been 50 guys in the league's history that are that tall?  (And how many of those were goalies?)

[Curt]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Well, if you're limiting it to guys that are 6'7", your pool of candidates is SEVERELY limited.  Have there even been 50 guys in the league's history that are that tall?  (And how many of those were goalies?)

Which was exactly the point of the post you replied to.  He is a pretty unique player.

NHL players are used to going against 6’4” guys on a nightly basis.  I could see how the length that comes with 6’7” could throw off opponents’ learned geometry though.

[Thorny]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

Well, if you're limiting it to guys that are 6'7", your pool of candidates is SEVERELY limited.  Have there even been 50 guys in the league's history that are that tall?  (And how many of those were goalies?)

There are only 3 forwards in the history of the league to be taller than Tage Thompson. One of which coincidentally is the answer to the size/skill combo we see in Tage:

John Scott

Thompson is tied for the 9th tallest player ever. Chara is the tallest ever, 2 inches taller 

[Thorny]

Also, @dudacekhad a key pull on Thompson earlier: Adam Creighton. 

I was looking at the 1988-89 season for something on Mario, and that year, Creighton, though 2 inches shorter than Tage, was still tied for the tallest player in the NHL. So perhaps with the league getting bigger, he presents a pretty good relative size comparison too 

Edited November 14, 2021 by Thorny

[PASabreFan]

It's proportional.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Curt said:

Which was exactly the point of the post you replied to.  He is a pretty unique player.

NHL players are used to going against 6’4” guys on a nightly basis.  I could see how the length that comes with 6’7” could throw off opponents’ learned geometry though.

True in today's NHL.  In the mid-80's & 90's when he came up, not nearly as often.  Lemieux was relatively huge when he entered the league relative to the competition.

[Curt]

19 minutes ago, Taro T said:

True in today's NHL.  In the mid-80's & 90's when he came up, not nearly as often.  Lemieux was relatively huge when he entered the league relative to the competition.

Fair enough.  Maybe they are pretty close, adjusting for era.