Sabres' Tage Thompson scores hat trick, growing into top-line player - The Athletic

BUFFALO, N.Y. — As Tage Thompson absorbed celebratory pats to the head and watched hats tumble to the ice, he was reminded of a younger version of himself.

“You grow up, you want to play in the NHL,” the Sabres center said Saturday. “Those are little dreams you have: scoring a hat trick, winning Stanley Cups. For one of those to come true and get a hat trick, that’s a cool feeling.”

Thompson’s first three-goal game since he skated for the University of Connecticut from 2015 to 2017 added more evidence to the obvious: The 24-year-old has grown into a talented, productive NHL player. The numbers don’t lie.

After doing all of Buffalo’s scoring in a 5-3 loss to Colorado, Thompson has 19 goals and 37 points in 46 games. He had 18 goals and 35 points in his first 145 games.

“We’re all so happy for Tage,” fourth-year teammate Casey Mittelstadt said. “We’ve been through some struggles and some ups and downs. But even for me watching from afar this year (while injured), it’s been amazing.

“I know how hard he works. I know how good of a guy he is in the room. He’s a complete class act — 10-out-of-10 guy — and I’m very happy for him.”

Part of Thompson’s early struggles, of course, was the connection to Ryan O’Reilly. The forward was just 20 years old when Buffalo acquired him in the 2018 blockbuster with St. Louis. When other trade pieces Vladimir Sobotka and

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