Canucks place Jack Thompson on waivers

The Vancouver Canucks are making roster moves and appear set to add a talent to the AHL Abbotsford Canucks backend after placing defenseman Jack Thompson on NHL waivers Sunday. 

The 24-year-old blueliner joined the organization through current general manager Ryan Johnson, then the AHL general manager, in a trade that sent fellow blueliner Jett Woo to the San Jose Sharks organization. 

Thompson scored three goals and 13 points in his 14 games with Abbotsford, marking a significant jump on his previous three goals and 12 points in 42 games with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. 

A native of Courtice, Ontario, Thompson was drafted 93rd overall in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He spent the 2020-21 COVID-19-cancelled CHL season playing in Sweden before returning to the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, where he developed into a captain. There, he posted 23 points in 29 games before moving to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, where he netted 13 goals and 34 points in 36 games. 

After wrapping up his junior career, Thompson elevated to the professional level. To date, he has played 217 AHL games, scoring 23 goals and 104 points and logging 60 penalty minutes. At the NHL level, he has played 34 games for the Lightning and Sharks, but has yet to play for the NHL Canucks. 

All 31 other NHL teams will have a chance to claim Thompson, but he is expected to clear and provide a bolstering presence on Abbotsford’s backend as they look to build on a 4-2-0 start, which has them sitting sixth in the AHL Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the Canucks continue to struggle at the NHL level, mired in a nine-game losing skid heading into a Sunday evening clash against a returning Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild.