Friday Feature: Thomson's Wild Ride On The Waiver Wire

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HERSHEY, Pa. - As the calendar reached the end of September and turned to October, Ottawa Senators defenseman Lassi Thomson had his world turned on its side when he was placed on waivers and subsequently claimed the following day by the Anaheim Ducks.

Little did he know then that he was in for a wild, but brief, ride out to the west coast before placed on waivers again and being re-claimed by Ottawa the following week.

"When you get put on waivers it's kind of... just 24 hours [of] you're just waiting, waiting, waiting. There's not much information for you," Thomson recalled of his waiver experience. "And then as soon as someone claims you, you just get a call and get on your way to the next team."

For Thomson, being claimed on waivers by the Ducks was an opportunity to achieve every pro hockey player's dream of making it to the NHL.

After getting notified he was a member of the Anaheim Ducks on October 1, Thomson flew out to California to meet his new teammates and - after one full practice with the team as Thomson recalled - he was in their lineup on October 5 for a home preseason game at the Honda Center against the Arizona Coyotes.

Thomson then flew with the Ducks from Anaheim to Tucson the next day and played in the Ducks' 7-1 road preseason loss to the Coyotes on October 7 before the Ducks waived Thomson on October 8.

Ottawa re-claimed Thomson off waivers from Anaheim on October 9, and because Ottawa was the only team to put in a waiver claim for the former 19th overall pick from the 2019 NHL Draft, Thomson was able to be assigned by Ottawa directly to their AHL affiliate in Belleville prior to the start of their regular season against the defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears.

It was Thomson's first experience on the waiver wire and, as the recently turned 23-year-old explained to InsideAHLHockey.com after the Belleville Senators regular season opener in Hershey last weekend, it was an experience he is thankful to have had early on in his career.

"Yeah, obviously it's been pretty crazy. You kind of see the work behind the hockey," Thomson explained after Belleville's season-opening win in Hershey last weekend. "Obviously, it was a pretty busy week for me with all the travel going back and forth a couple times to the west coast. But honestly, it is what it is. I'm here right now, and I'm pretty happy to be here with this team."

While Thomson admitted there was disappointment in not showing better in Anaheim and making their NHL roster out of training camp, he understands that being back in Belleville - and under the tutelage of Belleville Senators head coach David Bell - might be the best thing for him in the long run.

"Obviously kind of sad it didn't work out, but that's hockey," Thomson said of his brief stint with the Ducks earlier this month.

Now back with the BSens, Bell agreed the familiarity of the organziation, its players and systems will be beneficial for Thomson as they continue to work on his game while he's in the AHL. After all, who would know better than Bell - who has coached Thomson since his arrival to North American pro hockey during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.

"It was just take a couple of days there - when he got sent back and we re-claimed him - just to clear his head and almost erase that week," Bell said of Thomson being given a few days to gather his things and get everything in order before re-joining the team before their season-opening road trip. [He] went for a little vacation to California, and right back into our system."

There's no denying Thomson's offensive instincts. He tallied 33 points in 56 games in his first full season in the AHL last season after scoring 10 goals and adding 16 assists in 44 AHL games in 2021-22, not to mention his five assists in a 16-game NHL stint that year. He's on the proverbial doorstep to the NHL, it's just a matter of rounding out his game and being more polished in certain areas of his game.

While in Belleville, Thomson will look to work on his defensive game and play away from the puck. That's the messaging from the Senators organization.

"That's going to be a big part of what's going to get me back in the NHL. Just get better in the defensive [zone]," Thomson stated. "I want to work at that. Obviously, the offensive game is pretty stacked in Ottawa right now. I want to be part of that team and that's probably only going to happen if I get my defensive game better."

In the end, Thomson admits he will be better for having gone through that wild ride on the waiver wire.

"I mean, obviously it's hard. But for a young guy I feel it's a good learning point - like anything can happen," Thomson said of the eye-opening experience. "I just try to still enjoy the game as much as possible. Like, you're not going to play long. It's a short period. So every chance you get to play hockey, it's an opportunity."

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