- Tage Thompson says a four-inch growth spurt at 16 left him relearning how to play in his own body
- The Sabres center credits Don Granato for handing him the opportunity that turned him into a 40-goal scorer
- Read below for the full interview, his Olympic gold run and Buffalo’s playoff breakthrough
Tage Thompson spent the first few years of his pro career trying to catch up to his own body.
Thompson joined Daily Faceoff Live this week and got asked what actually changed between the lanky St. Louis Blues prospect who could not stick and the 6-foot-6 problem he became in Buffalo. He pointed at a growth spurt.
“I had a huge growth spurt when I was like 16 turning 17, grew like four inches in one year, put on like 20 pounds. So, from that I was kind of just relearning how to function as a bigger guy.”
Watch the full sit-down:
Scoring was never the problem. Thompson called it the one thing he has always been gifted at, and the rest of his game took years to arrive. St. Louis traded him to Buffalo in July 2018 before any of it clicked.
The coaching change is what finally gave him room. Don Granato had coached Thompson at the U.S. National Team Development Program and knew what he was looking at.
“Then, [Don Granato] came in as our coach, and I played with him at the [USNTDP] and kind of knew what kind of player I was, and told me I was going to get a big opportunity. So, I just had to make sure I was ready for it.”
He was ready. Thompson scored 38 goals in 2021-22, then a career-best 47 the following season, and he has reached 40 in three of the past four years.
February handed him something bigger. Thompson won Olympic gold with Team USA in Milan, the first American men’s hockey gold since 1980.
A 14-season playoff drought ended in Buffalo two months later, and teammate Zach Benson has been just as blunt about where that group thinks it stands now.
Camp opens in September with Thompson chasing 40 again and a Sabres room that has finally been through a postseason.
