A video here of some highlights of Blake Thompson. All these clips are for his offensive play, which if you look at him as Mikkelson's substitute then it looks like he more than replaces him in that regard. The real question will be his defensive play, and can he play that shut down role while probably playing with the offensive minded Crawford. That's harder to make in to a highlights package I guess so we'll just have to wait and see.
What I do like about his resume though is that he's obviously a battler. From playing minor juniors to then division 3 college hockey. Not many make it pro from div 3 college, the only other recent Devil I remember doing so is Justin Faryna, and he was a battler too. To then playing in the SPHL, which is pretty much as low as you can go in pro hockey, working his way up to be a consistent performer in the Coast, assistant captain, to then earning an AHL call up last year. You don't have a resume like that unless you're switched on, determined and a hard worker. He's got big skates to fill but he might turn out to be a gem of a find, look forward to seeing him play.