Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson previously received a call that he still thinks about, the call informing him that he didn’t make the final American roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
At the time, Thompson was a two-time 40-goal scorer and the decision to leave him out of the event the features the best-of-the-best that the NHL had to offer. Although the 27-year-old was eventually brought in as an injury/illness replacement for the championship matchup against Canada, he didn’t end up taking to the ice as the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid scored the game-winning overtime goal in a 3-2 Canadian triumph for the gold medal.
It appears now that Thompson is using this as further motivation to taking part on the American team in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.
Tage Thompson Finally Speaks in Depth on 4 Nations’ Snub
To be fair to Thompson, the 2016 first round (No. 26 overall) pick has come a long way since arriving to Buffalo in 2018. In the 2024-25 season, the Arizona native recorded 72 points across 44 goals and 28 assists in 76 games-played.
According to an interview with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Thompson still remembers how he felt when he received the news about not making the cut for 4 Nations.
“When I received the news, obviously it sucked,” Thompson said to ESPN.com. “That was a big goal of mine and I wanted to be on the team. To be honest with you, I felt like I would do a good enough job last year.”
A motivated Tage Thompson sounds ready to leave no doubt in the minds of the USA Hockey brass he deserves an Olympics roster spot 😤
(via @emilymkaplan) pic.twitter.com/ft0ZeDI1uc
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) September 2, 2025
Thompson stands at 6’6″ and weighs 220 pounds. He told Kaplan he has used the rejection as motivation to become a more well-rounded player.
“In the early stages of my career, I was in a different role and was playing more of a fourth, third line checking, defending role,” Thompson said. “As I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve been given opportunities to move up, with the ability to score and create plays. If that’s something they already have and they don’t need, then I also believe with my size and my speed, I can play pretty much any role that they need me to. PK, power play, whatever.”
He added, “You’re looking at the 25 best players in the country,” Thompson said. “So now it’s, what role are you going to play and who is going to do their job the best? I believe I can do any of those roles the best.”
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics’s ice hockey competitions will be played from Feb. 5-22 at the Palaltalia and one of the Fiera Milano pavilions. Thompson was on the NHL‘s original Team United States projected roster back in June.
