With the game on the line, there is no one else you would rather have with the puck on their stick than Tage Thompson. Thompson has scored 173 goals with Buffalo in his seven years with the team, and he finally got his chance to shine with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships.
Thompson showed up in a big way this tournament. At each of his two previous World Championships, he scored one goal each. This time he scored six, tied for the team lead with Frank Nazar, with the last goal he scored being the tournament winner. Thompson finished fifth in goals for the whole tournament.
When asked about his game-winning goal, Thompson's response was a nostalgic one,
“Honestly, I don’t even know,” Thompson laughed. “Just pure excitement, pure joy. It didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t. I’m just excited to get into that locker room and celebrate with the guys.”
Thompson for the first time in his professional career got to hoist a trophy above his head and Sabres fans are looking at it as a hopeful glimpse of the future. Thompson is a leader on and off the ice for the Sabres, and his mindset for Team USA during their tournament run is exactly how it should be with the Sabres.
“I think anytime you come to this tournament, you should come here to win,” said Thompson. “I don’t know if that’s always been the case in the past, but I think with this group, we’ve taken this very seriously and we came here with the goal and the mindset that we were going to win gold and we weren’t going to be denied.”
With Thompson now being a veteran presence in the locker room, he needs to take the initiative to get this Sabres team ready for next season. Things won’t be easy for the Sabres as they will be competing with five other Atlantic Division teams that made the playoffs last year.
However, this upcoming year may be one of the better teams the Sabres have had in the 2020s. If there is anyone who deserves the spotlight and is able to capture some hardware, it's Thompson. But Thompson has to retool and refocus as his next goal should be taking the Sabres to the playoffs next season.