New Rangers prospect earns 3rd Star honors in Hartford Wolf Pack debut
It was a whirlwind to say the least, but the newest New York Rangers prospect made quite the first impression Saturday night with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Acquired in a minor league deal from the Chicago Blackhawks right before the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, Aidan Thompson recorded a pair of assists and earned Third Star honors in Hartford’s 5-2 win over Hershey.
The 24-year-old was in San Diego, taking part in a morning skate Friday with the Rockford Ice Hogs, when informed he’d been traded to the Rangers. That began an interesting cross-country journey because, as you probably figured, there aren’t any direct flights from San Diego to Hartford.
So, Thompson was a bit weary ahead of the 6 p.m. start Saturday at PeoplesBank Arena. But he sure didn’t look it, assisting on each of linemate Carey Terrance’s two goals.
“Super excited to be here,” Thompson said postgame. “Couldn’t ask for a better start.”
It was the second multi-point game for Thompson here in his rookie pro season. He had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 40 games with Rockford before the trade.
“I think he’s a smart player. He’s got a good stick and is an above-average skater. I thought he was competitive on pucks tonight,” Hartford coach Grant Potulny noted after the impressive debut.
Though listed at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, Thompson stuck his nose into things and mixed it up some, when he wasn’t picking up the primary assists on Terrance’s goals — one late in the first period to put Hartford up 2-1, and the other early in the second period to extend the Wolf Pack lead.
In a game that had 71 total penalty minutes, Thompson accounted for four. He was assessed a slashing minor 10:29 into the second period, and a coincidental roughing minor with Hershey’s Louie Belpedio at 17:23.
“He’s smaller guy, but you saw it tonight, he likes to get into it, he likes to be a little bit greasy. So, I love that out of him,” Terrance said.
Rangers ‘take a swing’ on forward prospect Aidan Thompson
One of the stated goals by the Rangers in their retool is to find young players and prospects they believe can be part of the overall answer moving forward. That includes players like Thompson, who seek an opportunity after achieving some level of success in the recent past and/or have a solid pedigree.
Thompson was a productive player in college, and helped the University of Denver win the NCAA National Championship in 2024. The following season, he scored 21 goals and totaled 55 points in 44 games with Denver.
“When you do what’s he’s done before getting here, guys that have a history of scoring like that, they usually continue to score,” Potulny pointed out. “Looking forward to getting to know him more.”
A third-round pick (No. 90 overall) by the Blackhawks in the 2022 NHL Draft, Thompson clearly struggled offensively with Rockford this season. So, Chicago moved him to New York on Friday in exchange for veteran defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who spent all of the season in Hartford prior to the deal.
“Take a swing at a young guy like that who’s had offensive upside in his past,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury explained Friday.
So far, so good on the experiment.
