NHL awaits for Owen Tippett
Peterborough native and Steelheads star expected to go high in Friday’s entry draft
Owen Tippett’s first memories of hockey are of playing earlymorning house league games at the age of four.
“That’s when you first learn how to skate and you realize when you get up it’s almost as dark as when you went to bed,” said Tippett.
From those humble beginnings, Tippett has an opportunity Friday night to be the highest-selected Peterborough native ever in the NHL Entry Draft. Cory Stillman was the sixth overall pick by the Calgary Flames in 1992, two picks ahead of where the Montreal Canadiens selected Bob Gainey in 1973.
There is wide ranging opinion on Tippett from NHL scouts. Some suggest he’ll fall between fifth and 10th overall while NHL Central Scouting ranked him seventh among North American prospects and TSN analyst Craig Button has him as low as 20.
The six-foot-one, 200-pound Mississauga Steelheads winger is considered one of the most gifted goal scorers in the draft. He fired 44 goals in 60 games this season to go along with 31 assists for 75 points, a huge jump from his 15 goals and 20 points as a rookie. He added 10 goals and 19 points in 20 playoff games as Mississauga reached the OHL final.
Tippett said he did his best all season not to think about it being his NHL draft season.
“During the year you try to put this stuff behind you because you don’t really have any control over anything off the ice,” he said. “You just have to worry about playing your game and helping your team as much as you can. Once I went to the combine (two weeks ago) it really kind of settled in that now that there isn’t any hockey this is the next big focus.”
Tippett excelled from an early age and was a big factor in his novice AAA Petes team winning an OMHA championship in his first year of rep hockey. He looks back at it as a good introduction to competitive hockey.
“I think it was really helpful. Even being that young it’s one of the better tournaments and you kind of get a feel for how intense things can be even when you’re that small.”
Tippett followed the lead of his cousin Mitchell Stephens, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, by leaving Peterborough at a young age to play in the GTHL before being a fourth overall selection by Mississauga in the 2015 OHL draft.
After feeling his way through his rookie season, Tippett exploded in his sophomore season.
“Coming into this year I wasn’t really worried about how many points I was going to get or set any goals. I was more focused on just playing my game. It was a big summer. I wanted to get stronger and faster. When you come into the second year you’re more confident and know what to expect night-in and night-out,
“I was just more willing to do whatever it took to help the team out. After the first half of the year I had almost doubled my points of last year and it all kind of clicked in there,”
Hockey has been Tippett’s passion all his life and his NHL dreams started early.
“As a little kid I wanted to do everything hockey. Turning on the TV and seeing guys playing at that level you look up to them and want to be there one day.”
On Friday night in Chicago he’ll take one step closer to that dream. While he’s flattered to be talked about as a potential top 10 pick, Tippett will just be happy to hear his name called.
“It’s always been a lifelong dream to play in the National Hockey League. It’s what every little kid drams of. For me, to get drafted into the National Hockey League is something I’m looking forward to. It doesn’t really matter to me where I go or what pick it is, it’s more just being excited for the opportunity that is given me by that certain team.”
Still, it’s nice, he said, to hear your name bandied about as a potential high pick.
“It means a lot. It shows all the hard work I’ve personally put in, that people might not see or know, has paid off.”