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NHL 2016 Draft Radar: Tage Thompson

By Sam Blazer

Jun 14, 2016, 17:07 EDTUpdated:

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If you are a big, brutish winger in today’s NHL, their is definitely a market for you. Enter Tage Thompson, a 6’5 behemoth that had a great season for UCONN in the NCAA. Given the competition that Thompson faces on a nightly basis, many are shying away from the winger and would like to see more. Does the risk outweigh the reward? A smart person once said, the greatest risk in life is not taking one. So why not pick Tage Thompson?

Thompson is the twentieth ranked North American skater according to the NHL CS Rankings

The Stats

The numbers bode well for Thompson at first glance. Any freshmen playing that well in his first year should warrant a high pick. Especially on a lowly club like UCONN. What many don’t know is a large portion of his points came on the power play. He only had one even strength goal the entire season, not a great indication of future success.

While their isn’t anything wrong with a power play specialist, it isn’t encouraging to see one at the amateur level. Hopefully, you can get a player with a wide swath of skills and if he ends up pigeon holed into something, you play to his skill set. The numbers still may give enough team’s hope for him to be selected in the first round.

The Eye Test

This scouting report comes from Corey Pronman of ESPN:

“He’s a skilled big man. Thompson shows the ability to make decent offensive plays, displaying strong coordination and puck-movement ability for a 6-foot-5 player. Thompson also has a big shot, often being used this season as a trigger man on the point for Connecticut. His defensive hockey sense is fair, as he was a quality penalty killer during his time with the USNTDP. His skating isn’t the best, though. His speed isn’t horrible for a big man, but he’s not a burner at all. And despite his size, Thompson isn’t the most physical player you will find in the draft.”

From TheDraftAnalyst.com, Steve Kournianos had this to say a year or so ago about Thompson:

“A former member of the NTDP who starred as a freshman for UConn, Thompson is a sniper with an excellent shot whose development in terms of NHL readiness has a handful of years remaining. He’s pretty one-dimensional at this point — all but one of his 14 goals were scored on the power play. But 5-on-5 production will come in time, as will his ability to continue battling well after initial contact with an opponent. He’s got the kind of size (6’2) you’d love to see on your flank, but there’s some work left to do.”

Does he fit in with the Red Wings?

Much like I wrote in the Riley Tufte article, he could possibly make Mantha expendable if they decide to move him for a proven player. Like Tufte, Thompson is going to take some time to develop. Unlike Tufte though, Thompson has a role at UCONN and is already on a developmental path. That could make him an attractive selection for a team late in the first. Everything surrounding his game is tantalizing and will undoubtedly make scouts drool over his intangibles. He will be a fringe first round player and if he is selected sometime in the second round, a team will be getting an absolute steal.