Tage Thompson wants the full Buffalo hockey experience that he's heard all about.
"You hear stories and talk to guys that have stuck around Buffalo that either played there or grew up in the time frame they were successful, you hear how amazing the city is and how passionate the fans are," said Thompson, the Buffalo Sabres forward, on the latest episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast. "I mean, you can see it with the (Buffalo) Bills right now and everything that goes on there. That's something we really want. We want our fan base to be excited to go to games, be excited for winning seasons. We want to witness that firsthand and have that reliving of the glory days, I guess you could say."
Thompson and the Sabres open their season against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, MSG, SN1). They have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, but they finished one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference last season, and expectations are high this season.
Thompson addressed that with co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke.
"More and more people are starting to expect more out of us, but I still think they haven't really seen the level of excitement or belief we have in our locker room," he said. "We know internally that we have a special group that's capable. I think people on the outside are starting to see that and that's what we're hoping to prove."
Before going to Buffalo and Thompson, the hosts discuss some of the happenings in the Western Conference, including Chicago Blackhawks rookie forward Connor Bedard and his first two games, and the Stanley Cup championship banner raising ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Rosen and Roarke then welcome NHL.com Edmonton-based staff writer Derek Van Diest and the discussion turns to the Winnipeg Jets signing forward Mark Scheifele and goalie Connor Hellebuyck to matching seven-year contracts. Rosen, Roarke and Van Diest also touch on the Edmonton Oilers and their struggles in their season opener, an 8-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
The hosts also hit on the Sabres signing defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power to long-term contracts this week before playing the interview they did with Thompson at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas prior to the start of training camp.
The episode concludes with Rosen and Roarke giving a tribute to Barry Melrose, the former NHL coach and longtime ESPN hockey analyst who retired this week and announced he has Parkinson's Disease.
The "NHL @TheRink"podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
