Buffalo Sabres Star Tage Thompson On Former Islanders Forward Kyle Okposo: 'He'd Give You The Shirt Off His Back'

Before asking for a trade to the Florida Panthers at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, former New York Islanders forward Kyle Okposo was donning the "C" up in Buffalo.

The 36-year-old, who signed an eight-year deal with the Sabres in the summer of 2016 following a nine-year career on Long Island, was given the captaincy ahead of the 2022-23 season.

After some tough seasons personally and team-wise, Okposo knew that his time to win a Stanley Cup before hanging up the skates was running out, and he had to make the tough decision to leave his long-time team to hopefully accomplish that goal.

And that he did, as the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 for the organization's first championship.

Related: Islanders Fan-Favorite Kyle Okposo Is A Stanley Cup Champion

Okposo's former teammate, Tage Thompson, spoke about his former captain on The Daily Faceoff’s Morning Cuppa Hockey with Jonny Lazarus and Colby Cohen .

"I played a lot with him last season, and I was on a line with him," Thompson said. "It was awesome seeing him win a Cup. He's been our captain since I've been there, and just an unreal guy, down to earth. He'd give me the shirt off his back.

"He just wants everyone else to succeed before him. And he finally got what he deserved there."

Although Thompson hadn't played with Okposo before Thompson's second year in the NHL and first with Buffalo in 2018-19, they actually already knew each other.

Thompson's father, Brent, was head coach of the then-Bridgeport Sound Tigers from 2011 to 2012. He then joined the Islanders bench as an assistant from 2012 to 2014 before returning to Bridgeport.

He remained head coach in Bridgeport until the 2023-24 season when he joined Greg Conin's coaching staff in Anaheim.

Related: Longtime Bridgeport Islanders Head Coach Brent Thompson Joins Anaheim Ducks Staff

Growing up on the island meant Thompson and his brother Tyce— currently a forward for Bridgeport — grew up around Okposo and other Islanders' staples.

"Every kid's dream growing up is to play in the NHL, and we kind of had front-row seats and backstage passes to everything," Thompson said. "Me and my brother were stick boys, and the water boys, just kinda helping out whenever the equipment managers needed help. So we'd fill up water bottles and do stuff around the locker room, put towels in the stalls, just little things like that. We would always be around the guys, at a pretty young [age], so not really talking with a lot of them too often.

"But just being around them, you just kind of get to see how they go about their business and see what it takes to be a pro."

Thompson was a fan of Okposo's and loved watching him play at Nassau Coliseum.

"Kyle's one of those guys that...he was a stud, even when he was one on Long Island," Thompsons said. "He was scoring every game. And the teams back then were actually pretty sick, back in the Coliseum. It was just a fun atmosphere. And it was just cool to be a part of that."

Thompson never would have thought that years later, he'd be able to call Okposo a teammate.

"And then, fast forward, now you're playing with him, so it's just cool," Thompson said."Hockey's a small world. You run into a lot of the same guys."

Check out the full episode of Morning Cuppa Hockey below and catch brand new episodes daily during the 2024-25 NHL season.

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