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Not knowing what to expect after being traded for the first time, Soo Greyhounds defenceman Jack Thompson is certainly happy with the result.
The veteran Ontario Hockey League defenceman was acquired by the club prior to the OHL trade deadline in January and has settled in well.
The prospect of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning has brought a minute-eating impact defenceman to a Greyhounds blueline that already included veterans Ryan O’Rourke and Robert Calisti along with rookie Kirill Kudryavtsev in the top four.
“It’s pretty fun,” Thompson said of being a part of the Greyhounds blueline. “We’re got some good players and a couple good young players too that can fill in the other minutes with me, Rourkie, Rob, and Kirill. It’s been a lot of fun. There’s a lot of skill. We just like having fun and defending out there and chipping in offence when we can.”
Greyhounds coach John Dean called Thompson “a pleasure to coach.”
“He absorbs quite a bit, and he likes being corrected. Him and (assistant coach Jordan) Smith have a really good relationship.”
Dean added that the Greyhounds “really lucked out” with Thompson.
“He’s the kind of guy we want representing the Soo Greyhounds both on and off the ice,” Dean added.
After being acquired from the Sudbury Wolves in a trade that saw the Greyhounds send defenceman Jacob Holmes and forward Marc Boudreau to the Eastern Conference club as part of the deal, Thompson said the transition to the Greyhounds has been a good one.
“It’s the first time I had been traded in my career, so I didn’t really know what to expect,” Thompson said. “I already knew a few guys here and they made me feel more comfortable. Then just getting here and having great billets and great coaches and great teammates makes the transition that much easier.”
While the transition was smooth overall, Thompson did say there was “a little bit of an adjustment” early on.
“Like any new system, you’re going to have an adjustment period. Now I feel like I’ve been here for four years,” Thompson said. “I understand the systems really well and the coaches do a really good job with video and talking to me when I first got here about the systems. Now I feel like I’m in the loop and it’s a lot of fun to play.”
In addition to having success on the ice, Thompson said he has learned just as much off the ice as he has on the ice.
“I’ve learned a lot of things,” Thompson said. “They’re a first-class organization and you learn a lot of things off the ice like in the gym. We’re taking the health side of things pretty seriously, like going to yoga, stretching, working out, eating the right things and having the right things here for us to succeed.”
Thompson’s impact on the team hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates as well as his coaches.
“It’s a great addition for us,” O’Rourke said of having Thompson in the lineup. “Our blueline to begin with was pretty good starting off the year and it got that much better with adding him. He adds that same level of tenacious defence and can obviously put up points offensively too.”
“He’s so steady,” Dean said. “He plays a consistent 25 to 27 minutes a night and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s a one-man breakout pass. He’s very aware of his surroundings in the defensive zone. He can transport the puck if you want to, and he can pass the puck if you want to. He can hammer the puck on the blueline if you want him to, he can walk the blueline if you want him to. He’s just a very versatile defenceman and the scary part is, I think there’s more. He’s working on being even more assertive. His hockey IQ and his versatility as a player and all of the different weapons that he brings, it’s pretty special.”
While his time as a member of the Greyhounds will be just part of one season, the impact his presence had is something that can certainly be called special.