The Buffalo Sabres aren’t a team that sports any classic tough guys or even really has anyone who will run an opposing guy through the boards. What they do have is a 6’6″ superstar who drives teams crazy because of his elite skills with the puck: Tage Thompson.
Most players with his size would get pigeonholed into being a brute on the ice and scaring opponents into giving away the puck. Instead, his incredible skill means he can take it away and start off in the other direction before a player even realizes it. But that’s only the start of the defensive nightmare.
With the puck, Thompson can toe-drag around anyone and wire a wrist shot with such quickness it gives goalies and defensemen fits. And if he’s left alone in a shooting position, particularly on the power play, he possesses one of the hardest slap shots in NHL including the hardest shot delivered since the league began tracking it in 2022 at 104.69 mph.
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