It was a disappointing first season for Tage Thompson, but there’s still hope for is future

Tage Thompson was the key prospect acquired in the Ryan O’Reilly deal. The 21-year-old didn’t have a good first season with the Buffalo Sabres. In fact, he had one of the worst on-ice impact seasons in terms of goals above replacement for a player of his age.

The Sabres oddly decided to take a different approach with Thompson. Jason Botterill preaches the belief that young players should work on their craft in the AHL. We saw players like C.J. Smith, Danny O’Regan, and Lawrence Pilut be returned to the minors when they showed any signs of struggles.