While a majority of the NHL is off, Tage Thompson is not one of those players as he is set to participate in the Olympics as a member of Team USA. The Buffalo Sabres forward not only will be on the ice but also has a chance to be a deciding factor in whether or not this team is able to win gold in Milan.
This will be the first Olympics that Tage Thompson participates in, but he is no stranger to international competition. Last summer, as part of Team USA at the IIHF World Championship, he had six goals and three assists over 10 games.
However, no goal was bigger than the game-winning goal in overtime of the Gold Medal game against Switzerland. His performance in that tournament helped catapult him onto the roster for the Olympics after he was left off the roster in the 4 Nations Face-off last season.
Tage Thompson is playing some of the best hockey of his career entering the Olympics
For the Buffalo Sabres' star forward, he is entering the Olympics playing at a really high level that could translate into him making a big impact for Team USA. In the last 12 games leading up to the Olympic break, Thompson has eight goals and seven assists, including a hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens.
The big question entering the Olympics is where Tage Thompson will line up for Team USA. He is a player who could play either center, where he has spent most of this season with the Sabres, or on the wing. The skill set he has allows him to play in either spot and make an impact for Team USA.
Recently, NHL.com put together their line projections for Team USA and had Thompson at center with Minnesota Wild's Matt Boldy and Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor on the wings for his line: "Thompson has played well at center for the Buffalo Sabres, and having his 6-foot-6 frame going up and down the middle of the ice will create problems for the opposition. Boldy is dogged on the puck and scores. Connor's speed and shot would play well with Thompson's net-front presence and Boldy's ability to operate in tight spaces."
It certainly makes a lot of sense with the skill set of these three players to put them together as they complement each other well. Shortly after Tage Thompson was announced as part of Team USA's roster, he was asked on a podcast who he would like to play with and mentioned Clayton Keller and Auston Matthews.
That is notable because those two are together on a line with Tampa Bay Lightning's Jake Guentzel. This is where Thompson's versatility can help because if head coach Mike Sullivan needs to shake up lines, it is an easy swap of putting Thompson on that line with Guentzel playing center on the original projected line.
Regardless of where Tage Thompson lines up, with the way he has played over the past few weeks with the Buffalo Sabres he should make headlines in Milan, with hopefully one of those headlines including another Golden Goal for Team USA.