Player Prompt

Tommy Thompson hasn't made it to the SHL yet, but he could have never guessed when he first laced up his skates that he would have ended up hearing his name called by the Buffalo Stampede on draft night. Originally, Thompson picked up hockey mostly to keep his parents happy: it wasn't his first choice of a sport, but it was a sport that he was well-suited to, and they insisted he had to have some kind of extra-curriculars. It eventually developed into a passion by the time of his early teens, and he took to watching the SHL live on television every night. He was drawn not to Buffalo, but rather to the Colorado Raptors of the SMJHL that operated out of his home town -- and he would later become a fan of the Baltimore Platoon, even as they struggled to reach their old heights.

By the time Thompson started attending higher level hockey camps as his status as a future potential SMJHL player became more of a possibility, he fell under the mentorship of Rintauro Okabe, ironically of Buffalo pedigree. Okabe taught him a lot about the game and encouraged him to try to make the SHL, and perhaps one of the most important lessons he taught him was this: it's alright that Thompson, like Okabe, might not have the raw skill to set the league on fire. At the end of the day, what really matters is that you do the best you can with what you're given.

That has been Thompson's guiding principle ever since, and he still longs for the day that he can finally play his game at the SHL level.