Longtime NHL forward Nate Thompson has retired from the game at the age of 38.
The Anchorage, Alaska, native was drafted 183rd overall in 2003, and managed to carve out quite the professional career out of it. A high-energy forward that worked as hard as anyone, Thompson made his NHL debut during the 2006-07 season with a four-game run with Boston.
His first real NHL season came in 2008-09 with the New York Islanders before cracking the 70-game barrier for the first time in 2010-11 with Tampa Bay. That season, he scored a career-high 10 goals and 25 points, with his five-year run with the Bolts being the best of his career.
Thompson would go on to play for Anaheim for three seasons before splitting the 2017-18 season with Ottawa and Los Angeles. He was then later moved to Montreal the following year before ending up in Philadelphia late in the 2019-20 season. Thompson capped off his NHL tenure with a single season in Winnipeg in 2020-21 and one last run in Philadelphia in 2021-22 before joining the Kings organization for 2022-23. Thompson spent all of last season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, acting as a veteran presence for the team’s young prospects.
Thompson was valued as a leader during his career, wearing the alternate captain’s A with Tampa Bay, Montreal and USA at two World Championships. Thompson also spent the 2012-13 lockout with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, returning to play at home for the first time since 2020-21 when he was still in AAA.
In all, Thompson wrapped up his NHL career with 65 goals and 164 points in 844 NHL games. He also had 87 points in 251 AHL games and 21 points in 24 ECHL contests. One of the highlights of Thompson’s career was winning bronze at the 2013 World Championship with USA, his only major career victory.
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