After nearly breaking through with the New Jersey Devils on multiple occasions, once-promising prospect Tyce Thompson will be continuing his playing career overseas.
Thompson, 26, signed with Kazakh KHL outfit Barys Astana, according to multiple reports, on Wednesday, signaling an indefinite pause on his NHL career. Astana is one of the KHL teams former Devils forward Michael McLeod played for last season.
Drafted 96th overall by the Devils in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Thompson made the NHL right after his junior season in the NCAA with Providence College, scoring one assist in seven games with the Devils in 2020-21.
The 6-foot-1 right winger was plagued by injuries for much of his Devils tenure, underscored by a 2021-22 season that saw him appear in just 18 total games between the NHL and AHL.
Thompson's 15 points in 16 AHL games that season were as promising as things got, as he played just two NHL games in that superb 2022-23 season for the Devils. In 2023-24, after scoring just five assists in 15 games for the Utica Comets, the Devils traded Thompson to the New York Islanders organization for forward Arnaud Durandeau.
Durandeau, who now also plays in the KHL, was traded by the Devils to the Montreal Canadiens later that season for forward Nathan Legare.
In 11 NHL games across three seasons, Thompson earned one assist, a primary helper on a Damon Severson goal in his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres on April 6, 2021.
Every player drafted by the Devils in the 2019 draft, except for Jack Hughes and Arseniy Gritsyuk, is out of the NHL and/or with a new organization.