Sniping for his spot
Puck release skills should help draftee on road to roster spot
Panthers’ pick has NHL-ready release, speed and size.
CORAL SPRINGS— Whether Owen Tippett walks into a room or is on the ice, he clearly stands out.
His fiery shock of red hair is hard to ignore. However, far more relevant to his future and the Florida Panthers is the No. 10 draft pick’s lightning-quick release of a booming shot that is being compared to puck-sniping Penguins All-Star right wing PhilKessel, who has had five seasons of 30 goals or more.
While some-18-year-olds would shy away from such comparisons, Tippett — confidently and without a trace of cockiness— welcomes it.
“I personally believe I have the upside of PhilKessel with the shot and the speed that he has, as well as the capability to make plays,” Tippett said Friday at the conclusion of the Panthers’ weeklong development camp at the IceDen.
Tippett, a soft-spoken teen, wasn’t always this confident. A revealing profile by Sportsnet touched upon some personal obstacles that Tippett had to overcome during his journey toward the NHL.
Bullied by his 12-year-old peers on the local rinks of his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario, because of his advanced skills, Tippett was on the verge of quitting hockey. His mother, Tracy, concerned about her son, eventually moved the seventh-grader to Toronto. On the advice of cousin Mitch Stephens, 20, a third-round draft pick by the Lightning last year, she enrolled Owen at Premier Elite Athletes’ Collegiate academy.
“It’s something that I battled through and kept my mind on the little dream I had,” Tippett said. “It’s been tough, but it’s been my dream to play in the NHL. So I just kept that in mind and pushed through.”
Because of job responsibilities and finances, the