Upping the physicality stakes is something the Black Sticks have been incorporating into their game and that is becoming a lot more apparent compared to the past.
With unlimited changes all 18 players will run on for the Kiwis, who are trying to win their first crown here since the Hawke's Bay Festival of Hockey started three years ago.
Coach Mark Hager sees Thompson as a potential leader and someone who needs to stay faithful to her strengths through confidence.
"She's probably got a long way to go with that but she has mentors like Kayla [Sharland], Anita [Punt], Stacey Michelsen and Sam Charlton so that's why we brought her into our leadership group to, hopefully, grow into that role."
Thompson says initially she was quite reserved but emerged from that cocoon once she felt confident.
"You learn a lot from other people and the leaders I've had in the team have set a good example so I've bounced off that to, hopefully, fill that role some day."
Regardless of whether one is in a leadership group or not, all the players tend to take a sense of responsibility.
Incremental improvements during this tourney are on the agenda to ensure the players peak in time for the Rio Olympics.
Versatile Thompson is a central defender who can slip effortlessly into the halves if summoned.
"As long as you're out there on the field to play it's pretty cool but, I guess, once you move from defence to the halves you have a more attacking role so it's nice to change and do them both."
Like her teammates, she never takes her position for granted: "You can never really feel that you're safe."
The competitive atmosphere in the Black Sticks environment ensures no one rests on their laurels.
"You've always got to be out there playing your best and training really well and always fighting for that spot."
Thompson, who made her debut in 2013, feels she needs to work on the basics.
"Obviously I want to know that I'm playing consistently over this tournament so I'll be working on that."
She recalls dealing with jangled nerves in her debut season, not long after the Rio dream had kicked at the end of an Olympic cycle.
That the distraught Kiwis had finished fourth at the London Games impressed on her how close they had been to winning a medal.
"You try to come out of your shell and be a bit more confident to play with a lot more control in the team."
The game has evolved into such a high-octane affair that players tend to roll into positions relatively quickly so the job description demands that versatile players don't limit themselves to becoming just deliverers or eliminators.
Her foray into hockey came as an 8-year-old when one day she asked her mum, Chrissy, if she could have a go.
"No one in my family actually plays it so I just asked and stuck with it."
She was in the phase of flirting with a myriad of sporting codes and had narrowed it down to netball, tennis and hockey but the latter prevailed.
"I kind of liked the greater skill element and it offered a really cool environment to be part of a team. When you pull off a win together it's just an awesome feeling."
Sharland and Michelsen are the two players she looked up to while growing up.
"You know they have great leadership roles and have gone out there to give their all in every single game so they are great examples of anyone who is into hockey or watching it."
Her former St Cuthbert's College coach, Simon Norton, a former Black Sticks men's player and representative coach, helped hone her skills and "had an incredible influence on my career".
"I was lucky he'd take me down to the turf before and after school every day to focus on what I needed to work on just to get the next level and stuff. Without him there would have been a big gap to where I am so I'm very lucky to have had his support," says Thompson who plays for Auckland in the NHL.
