TAGE, YOU’RE IT!
TAGE THOMPSON KNEW HE COULD BE A STAR SOMEDAY. A NEW COACH CONVINCED HIM SOMEDAY WAS NOW.
THROUGH ALL THE ADVERSITY BUFFALO SABRES CENTER TAGE THOMPSON ENDURED EARLY IN HIS CAREER INJURIES, DEMOTIONS, AND UNMET EXPECTATIONS HIS CONFI DENCE NEVER WAVERED.
e 6-foot-7 ompson, the top asset the Sabres acquired in the 2018 blockbuster trade that sent Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues, knew he could reach his vast potential and develop into a consistent goal scorer.
ere was just one problem: ompson believed it would happen someday. Sabres coach Don Granato needed to convince him he possessed the talent to be a star right now.
Granato challenged him to stop waiting and urged him to display some swagger on the ice.
“We both felt that I was going to be a great player in this league,” said ompson, who first played under Granato as a teenager with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
“The biggest thing was for it to happen now.”
Granato put the 24-year-old in a prime position to score for the rebuilding Sabres. It was then up to ompson to seize the opportunity. “I (told) Tage, ‘Listen, you have confidence in your game. I’ve known you since you were 16 ... (you) know that it’s all going to work out in the end,’” Granato said. “‘But I need you to have confidence that it’s OK to work out right now, today.’ And that was the switch that I think happened with him.”
at change in mindset paid off last season, helping ompson score a team-high 38 goals in 78 games. But another switch also buoyed his emergence as one of the
NHL’s breakout stars.
Late in training camp, Granato shied ompson, a right winger since his days at the University of Connecticut, to center. At first, it felt like the change might be temporary.
Granato was beginning his first full season as coach and needed to experiment. Forwards bounce from center to wing all the time, right?
It turned out to be a career-changing move for ompson, who scored just 18 goals in his first 145 NHL outings. His new role as the Sabres’ No. 1 pivot unleashed his full array of dynamic skills.
He performed more aggressively in the middle, showcasing his creativity and vision. He consistently utilized his lethal shot and ultra-quick release, oen from the circle on the power play.
His confidence ballooned, and not only did he score goals, he created them, recording 30 assists. ompson and le winger Jeff Skinner, who rebounded from two dismal seasons to score 33 times, quietly became one of the NHL’s most dangerous duos.
Brimming with confidence, ompson became more impactful as the season progressed, scoring 26 goals in his final 41 contests.
at strong second half has him projecting even greater success next season.
“It gives me excitement and confidence moving forward to go even higher, and it gives me the internal hunger to go out and do more,” ompson said of his season. “I don’t think you ever want to be satisfied or comfortable with where you’re at. e number (38) adds fuel to the fire to continue to grow.”
ompson has never had any problem motivating himself. His early-career struggles are seared in his mind.
at’s why he said he plays with a chip on his shoulder “wanting to prove people wrong.”
“TAGE THOMPSON ROOKIE CARDS WERE SELLING AS FAST AS I COULD GET THEM IN,” — Je Szczesek, owner of Bases Loaded card and collectibles store in West Seneca, NY.
A er arriving from the Blues, ompson scored just seven times in 65 games before the Sabres demoted him to the AHL. It didn’t go unnoticed in Buffalo that O’Reilly won the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy that season in St. Louis.
Following a fast start with the Rochester Americans in 2019-20,
ompson forced his way up to Buffalo, only to suffer a seasonending shoulder injury late in his first game.
Early in 2020-21, he briefly had a plum gig as center Jack Eichel’s right winger before again falling out of the lineup.
But when Granato replaced coach Ralph Krueger later in the season, he started to find his footing and earned regular ice time.
As ompson’s production surged last season, collectors in Buffalo began seeking out his 201718 Upper Deck Young Guns (#228) and some of his other key RCs. While the rookies picture ompson with the Blues, who dra ed him 26th overall in 2016, no one seems to care he’s wearing a different Blue and Gold uniform.
“Tage ompson Rookie Cards were selling as fast as I could get them in,” said Jeff Szczesek, owner of Bases Loaded card and collectibles store in West Seneca, NY.
Szczesek said ompson’s Young Guns, which sold for $10 earlier in his Sabres career, now fetches $25 locally.
“ey didn’t really even pay attention to it until the production started on the ice, and then it became a very popular card,” Szczesek said.
But ompson’s popularity in blue-collar Buffalo can be traced to more than his scoring prowess.
“I think they realize that he’s a Buffalo guy,” Szczesek said.
What does that mean?
“Hardworking … he’s easy to talk to,” Szczesek said. “He seems like one of those guys that’ll find the time for you even if he doesn’t have the time.”
Now that the Sabre’s popularity is soaring, Szczesek’s customers face an unusual challenge. Once they add ompson’s rookie to their collection, they want cards picturing him with the Sabres. But as ompson had difficulty finding his place in the lineup early in his tenure with the team, he was largely ignored by UD’s product group.
ompson was only included in two of the first three sets – O-Pee-Chee and Upper Deck – released in 2021-22. He doesn’t have any cards from 202021 sets. Upper Deck released his only previous Sabres card in the 2018-19 Compendium series.
at seems likely to change moving forward. Card manufacturers don’t overlook young 38-goal scorers. And neither should collectors.