Tage Thompson Becomes Tallest NHL Player to Score 40 Goals and 80 Points in a Single Season -- Here Are Some of the Tallest Hockey Players of All-Time

Tage Thompson Becomes Tallest NHL Player to Score 40 Goals and 80 Points in a Single Season — Here Are Some of the Tallest Hockey Players of All-Time

At 6’6’’, Tage Thompson is one of the tallest hockey players in the NHL right now and some people even have him listed at 6’7’’. Either way, he towers over pretty much everyone he shares the rink with and is even a few inches taller when you factor in his skates – which typically adds several inches to your height. 

Despite his size, Thompson is one of the most skilled players in the NHL today and is finally breaking out for the Buffalo Sabres, who traded for him in 2018. Last year, he broke out with 38 goals, 30 assists, and 68 points in 78 games – which is more goals, assists, and points than the previous four years combined.

This season, he’s setting more career-highs with 44 goals, 45 assists, and 89 points through 72 games – officially becoming the tallest NHL player to ever score 40 goals and 80 points in a single season. We have never seen someone his size put up these types of numbers and it makes for some exciting hockey.

RELATED: Top 25 All-Time Fastest Skaters in the NHL

Who Are Some of the Tallest Hockey Players of All-Time?

Tage Thompson Becomes Tallest NHL Player to Score 40 Goals and 80 Points in a Single Season -- Here Are Some of the Tallest Hockey Players of All-Time
via Instagram (@zeechara33)

To put Tage Thompson’s size into perspective, there have only been about a dozen hockey players taller than him in NHL history and only a couple who stood 6’8’’ and above. With that said, most players his size are usually bruisers that use their body to physically dominate their competition – even intimidate at times. 

That’s what makes Thompson different. He’s a much more skilled player who can move and shoot just as well as someone six inches shorter than him – as explained above. What’s scary about Tage is that he’s only 25 years old and is still learning how to best utilize his skill – so his best hockey is still ahead of him. 

Whether you list him at 6’6’’ or 6’7’’, Tage Thompson is one of the tallest hockey players of all-time and certainly one of, if not the most skilled players at least 6’6’’. With that said, you might be wondering who some of the other tallest hockey players of all-time are – don’t worry, we’ve got an answer for you below!

15. Logan Stanley – 6’7’’

Logan Stanley is a 6-foot-7, 228-pound, 24-year-old defenseman who was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets with the No. 18 overall (1st round) pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He’s currently playing in his third season in the NHL, but hasn’t received a lot of opportunities yet – only appearing in 17 games this year.

In 112 career games played, Stanley has scored 3 goals and dished 17 assists for 20 points. He played in 58 games last season and had 12 assists – his lone goal in 2021-22 was a game-winning goal against the Vegas Golden Knights on March 15, 2022. He’s still young, so he still has time to improve his game. 

14. Christopher Breen – 6’7’’

Christopher Breen was a 6-foot-7, 226-pound defenseman who went undrafted and only played nine games at the NHL level. He made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames on October 22, 2013 and played in his final NHL game on April 13, 2014. His NHL career ended just as soon as it started. 

Between 2005 and 2010, Breen spent five seasons in the OHL with the Saginaw Spirit, Erie Otters, and Peterborough Petes. He then spent four seasons with the Abbotsford Heat in the AHL before his brief stint in the NHL, and returned to the AHL for six seasons with the Providence Bruins before retiring. 

13. Mads Sogaard – 6’7’’

Mads Sogaard is a 6-foot-7, 196-pound, 22-year-old goalie who was drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the No. 37 overall (2nd round) pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He’s currently playing in his second season in the NHL and, while he has only seen limited opportunity, he’s a promising goalie for Ottawa. 

In just 17 games played, Sogaard has an 8-6-2 record in net with a 3.17 goals against average and .894 save percentage. He has played in 15 games during the 2022-23 season and has a 7-5-2 record in those starts – including a win in each of his past two starts. He’ll continue to get better in the coming years. 

12. Derek Boogaard – 6’7’’

Derek Boogaard was a 6-foot-7, 265-pound left winger who was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the No. 202 overall (7th round) pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Wild during the 2005-06 season and spent six years in the NHL. He last played with the New York Rangers in 2011.

Boogaard wasn’t much of a goal-scorer and wasn’t much of a playmaker, but he knew how to use his body to intimidate others and was often getting in fights – and winning those fights. In 277 games played in the NHL, he only had 3 goals and 13 assists for 16 points, but he did have 589 penalty minutes. 

11. Andrej Šustr – 6’7’’

Andrej Šustr is a 6-foot-7, 217-pound, 32-year-old defenseman who started his professional career in Czechoslovakia before playing in the North American Hockey League and United States Hockey League. He then played for the University of Omaha Nebraska for three seasons, but went undrafted in the NHL. 

Šustr made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2012-13 season and played in 316 games for the team between 2013 and 2018 – scoring 10 goals and 53 assists during that time. He has bounced around since then and has struggled to stay in the NHL, also playing in the AHL and KHL. 

10. Jamie Oleksiak – 6’7’’

Jamie Oleksiak is a 6-foot-7, 257-pound, 30-year-old defenseman who was drafted by the Dallas Stars with the No. 14 overall (1st round) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He played sporadically between 2012 and 2016, but started to play regularly during the 2016-17 season and now has 507 games under his belt.

The Stars traded Oleksiak to the Penguins during the 2017-18 season, but they traded him back to the Stars the following season. He was drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft and is having a career year for them in 2022-23 with 9 goals and 21 points – both of which are career-highs.

9. Hal Gill – 6’7’’

Hal Gill was a 6-foot-7, 243-pound defenseman who was drafted by the Boston Bruins with the No. 207 overall (8th round) pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He ended up spending 16 seasons in the NHL between 1997 and 2014 with the Bruins, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Penguins, Flyers, and Predators. 

Gill retired after the 2013-14 season with 36 goals, 148 assists, and 184 points in 1,108 career games played. He won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. Since retiring, he has spent time as the manager of player development for the Florida Panthers and a broadcaster for the Predators.  

8. Ben Bishop – 6’7’’

Ben Bishop was a 6-foot-7, 210-pound goalie who was drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the No. 85 overall (3rd round) pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He spent 11 seasons in the NHL between 2008 and 2020 with the Lightning, Stars, Blues, Senators, and Kings. He was a regular winner at the NHL level. 

In 396 starts during his career, Bishop had a 222-128 -36 record with a 2.32 goals against average and .921 save percentage. He had a winning record every season between 2012 all the way up until his retirement. He was a 2-time All-Star and had a career-high 40 wins with the Lightning in 2014-15. 

7. Victor Hedman – 6’7’’

Victor Hedman is a 6-foot-7, 244-pound, 32-year-old defenseman who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the No. 2 overall (1st round) pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He’s currently playing in his 14th season, all of which with the Lightning, and is one of the better offensive defenseman in the NHL. 

In 967 career games, Hedman has scored 142 goals and dished 506 assists for 648 points. Before this season, he was named an All-Star in six consecutive seasons – he won the Norris Trophy in 2017-18, Smythe Trophy in 2019-20, and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021. 

6. Elmer Soderblom – 6’8’’

Elmer Soderblom is a 6-foot-8, 246-pound, 21-year-old right winger who was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with the No. 159 overall (6th round) pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut this season and made a ton of headlines for his size, but he looks like he’ll have a bright future in the NHL. 

In just 21 games for the Red Wings this season, he has scored 5 goals and dished 3 assists for 8 points – not bad for a 21-year-old and worth keeping an eye on. Two of his goals were game-winners and even had an assist against his older brother, Arvid Soderblom, who is a goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks. 

5. Joe Finley – 6’8’’

Joe Finley was a 6-foot-8, 249-pound defenseman who was drafted by the Washington Capitals with the No. 27 overall (1st round) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He had a lot of promise when he entered the league, but didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2011-12 season and only played in 21 career games. 

Finley started to turn heads in the USHL before spending four seasons with the University of North Dakota. Aside from his 21 games in the NHL, he spent most of his time in the AHL and ECHL between 2008 and 2016. He then spent three seasons in the Liiga (Finland) before deciding to retire in 2019.

4. Vladimír Mihálik – 6’8’’

Vladimír Mihálik was a 6-foot-8, 246-pound defenseman who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the No. 30 overall (1st round) pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, he couldn’t live up to his first round pick status and only played in 15 career games in the NHL between 2008 and 2010. 

After the 2009-10 season, Mihálik played one more year in the AHL before taking his talents overseas. He played in the KHL (Russia) and SEL (Sweden) in 2011-12 before spending the next four seasons in the KHL. Between 2016 and 2022, he moved on to the SVK (Slovakia), but hasn’t played at all since 2022. 

3. John Scott – 6’8’’

John Scott was a 6-foot-8, 260-pound left winger who began his professional hockey career in the AHL in 2006-07 after four seasons with Michigan Tech University. He made his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild during the 2008-09 season and became somewhat of a journeyman during his 8-year NHL career. 

Scott ended up playing for the Wild, Blackhawks, Sabres, Rangers, Sharks, Canadiens, and Coyotes between 2008 and 2016. He scored 5 goals and dished 6 assists for 11 points in 286 games played. He was once selected to be an All-Star, but even he came out and said he wasn’t deserving of the honor. 

2. Tyler Myers – 6’8’’

Tyler Myers is a 6-foot-8, 229-pound, 33-year-old defenseman who was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 12 overall (1st round) pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut in 2009 and is currently playing in his 14th season – he has also played for the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks.

Myers has scored 88 goals and dished 251 assists for 339 points in 909 career games played. He knows how to use his body to intimidate other players, but has yet to be named an All-Star in his career. He did, however, win the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2009-10, given to the league’s most impressive rookie. 

1. Zdeno Chara – 6’9’’

You can’t talk about the tallest hockey players in NHL history without mentioning the GOAT – Zdeno Chara. He was a 6-foot-9, 250-pound defenseman who was drafted by the New York Islanders with the No. 56 overall (3rd round) pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He retired at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Chara ended up spending an incredible 24 years in the NHL with the Islanders, Bruins, Senators, and Capitals. He scored 209 goals and dished 471 assists for 680 points in 1,680 career games played. He was a 7-time All-Star who won the Messier Award in 2011, Norris Trophy in 2009, and Stanley Cup in 2011.

Tallest Hockey Players Currently on the Come-Up

If there’s one trend we’re seeing in the NHL over the past few decades, it’s that players are getting taller. When the NHL was first formed in 1917, the average player was just under 70 inches tall (5’10’’), but that number now stands above 73 inches tall (6’1’’) and is only going to increase in the coming years. 

With that said, there are several players who will one day find themselves on the list of tallest hockey players in NHL history – one of which is Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Curtis Douglas, who currently stands 6’9’’ at just 23 years old. He has yet to make his NHL debut, but it’s bound to happen soon. 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Jared Beck Becomes Tallest Player in the MLB and 25 Other VERY Tall Baseball Players

We also have Adam Klapka, a forward for the Calgary Flames who stands 6’8’’ at 22 years old, Adam Edstrom, a forward for the New York Rangers who stands 6’7’’ at 22 years old, and Jachym Kondelik, a forward for the Nashville Predators who stands 6’7’’ at 23 years old – all of which have yet to debut.

About At The Buzzer

At The Buzzer, or ATB is the place for those who love sports, life, family, community, and so much more. We are far from the run-of-the-mill 24/7 sports news websites. We not only bring you what’s happening in the world of sports in terms of trades and breaking news, but we also bring you the news that goes on behind the scenes, like big life moments, and so much more. So take a minute and read one of our articles, we promise you won't regret it.