The veteran Black Stick — who has amassed more than 200 games for the national side — spent nearly 18 months away from the team, last suiting up at the Nations Cup in 2024.
Dunedin marked a welcome return to international hockey for Thompson as she played in the Summer of Hockey tournament last week.
"I just tried to come back and play PHL [Premier Hockey League] and NHC [National Hockey Championship] last year to put my hand up... to be around the group again," Thompson said.
"I feel very fortunate to be in the position where I was able to play here and do my thing.
"It’s been great to be back, especially in a year like this where you just want to be around the group and be a part of a big World Cup."
Thompson, 31, felt fresh after a year playing club hockey in the United Kingdom, having opted for a break after the Black Sticks failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
"I was lucky to play with a lot of GB [Great Britain] internationals over there.
"You’re just in a different environment, different stimulus and different style of hockey, which I think can only benefit your skill set.
"It was great to do something different after a year [with] the disappointment of not getting to play at the Olympics."
The defender, who tore her ACL in 2022, enjoyed being back in the national squad and said they made the most of hosting a tournament on home soil in Dunedin.
"Our time together as a team is super precious with our programme being decentralised.
"Any time we can spend together as a group... we always get a lot out of."
The Black Sticks finished runners-up, beating Japan and New Zealand A but losing twice to the United States.
Coming up against quality international opposition — "especially two teams that probably challenge us quite a lot" — was good preparation for the Hockey World Cup in August.
"We’ve definitely lost the last couple of games against the US, so that’s sort of a work in progress.
"But you get a really good idea of figuring these teams out and they both pose different challenges.
"Even though we didn’t come away with the win — which is always the goal — it’s really great to practise those scenarios, like being a goal down or having a must-win game.
"It’s all just good learnings for quite a young group who haven’t had a lot of exposure at some of those bigger tournaments, and given we’re not in some of the bigger stuff like the Pro League now, we just really have to soak that all up.
"If you look at us from game one to game four ... there was a lot of positives to take away from it."
It was Thompson’s first senior tournament at the McMillan Centre and she praised the facilities.
"It was awesome.
"Our favourite part of playing at home is just getting to feel like you’ve got the home comforts.
"The turf’s great. It’s quite cool getting to stay all together as a group, even with our NZ A girls."
Like most Black Sticks, Thompson also works fulltime to support herself, giving up her annual leave to represent her country.
"But it’s so worth it. We all love it.
"You just have to put your head down and make do with the environment you have sometimes.
"It is a challenge, but we all love it and want to be there, so you do what you can."
