Canadiens Thompson trying to adapt to changing NHL

Nate Thompson with the Montreal Canadiens. Credit: Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

For Canadiens centre Nate Thompson, change is a thing he’s had to get used to.

Since being drafted in the 6^th round of the 2003 NHL entry draft by the Boston Bruins, he’s seen himself play for 7 different clubs, across nearly 700 NHL games, settling into a role as a tough, hard working, bottom six centre, lacking in speed, but making up for it with grit and tenacity.

“This is my 17th or 18th training camp, so it’s getting up there.” Thompson said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. “I think I was 18, I was with Boston. There were guys like Sandy McCarthy, P.J. Stock. Joe Thornton was in Boston at the time. I actually played on a line with Sandy McCarthy and P.J. Stock, so safe to say I was pretty safe.”

As with many veteran bottoms six players, Thompson has seen witness to the changes the NHL has gone through in the on-ice product, specifically with players like him.

Once upon a time, big physical forwards were what teams wanted to fill out their bottom six, as teams took a more defensive approach to things. In 2003-2004 (the year Thompson made his professional debut) the average goals per game was around 2.57, the lowest it had been since 1953-54, with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis winning the art ross trophy with 94 points. This past season, the average was around 3.01, with Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov winning the award with 122 points, while St. Louis’s total wouldn’t have even put him in the top 10 amongst players.

With a pipeline filled with promising prospects, many Canadiens fans see a bright future ahead for the team, especially with forwards like Nick Suzuki and Ryan Poehling. A 25^th overall pick of the team in 2017, Poehling, despite recording 3 goals in his NHL debut, plays a more defensive oriented, 200-foot game, filling the same role as Thompson, while possessing quicker feet.

“I think it’s great,” Thompson said regarding his competition with Poehling. “I think you want that healthy competition. He’s going to push me and I’m going to push him. That’s what the team wants, that’s what the coaches want, management, I think you want that. That’s what makes teams successful. I mean, you look at other teams that have been successful and I think every team could say that that happened. So, I’m all for it.”

Footwork is something Thompson and other players know they need to work on, as teams look for more speed-oriented agitators that can fly around the ice while providing equal physicality. With forwards like Charles Hudon and Matthew Peca joining the fold last year, they were supposed to provide that for the Habs, instead providing little offense or defense, with -14 and -9 ratings respectively.

For Thompson, that steadiness is something at least he can rely on, and was one of the reasons the team brought him in the first place, acquiring him from the Los Angeles Kings at last year’s trade deadline, recording 7 points in 25 games with the team, before singing a 1 year deal this offseason.

While nothing is for certain at this stage in the preseason, Thompson has certainly looked like his job is his to lose, recording a goal in the Canadiens 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils, demonstrating noticeably improved footspeed and a never say die presence.

With similarly veteran forwards like Nick Cousins and Dale Weise also trying to crack the bottom six, Thompson has certainly stood out as a prime candidate to make the opening night roster.

Despite a changing environment, Thompson will continue to try and stick around, for as long as he can.

“I feel great,” Thompson said. “I’m excited. It’s funny, you get at this age of your career and it’s almost like I feel like I’m 22 again because I’m excited like I was then. I was more excited than I’ve ever been, I think, for this training camp just because I don’t know how many training camps, I’m going to have left, so I’m trying to cherish every single one. Being around the guys, doing this stuff. I want to play as long as I can. I’m just trying to enjoy every day.”