Small and gifted Tufto plays large role for Bobcats

HAMDEN — After a blazing start to his college career, Odeen Tufto, at 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds, is evoking images of a couple of other small and gifted Quinnipiac forwards.

Tufto’s two high-end goals against Vermont last Sunday included the winner in overtime and drew natural comparisons to Sam Anas, the 5-7, 150pound scoring wiz who left Quinnipiac a year early in 2016 to sign an NHL contract.

But Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold sees Tufto’s development mirroring that of Travis St. Denis, now a top-six forward for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

St. Denis, 5-7 and 160 at Quinnipiac, played on a wing for two years while working in the weight room before shifting back to the middle. As a senior he skated alongside Anas, forming one of the nation’s most dynamic lines on a team that reached the Frozen Four.

Tufto, a center for Quinnipiac’s first two games, was moved to a wing alongside Landon Smith and Tanner MacMaster for Vermont. The trio was highly productive, and could remain together for a while.

The Bobcats (1-1-1) play two games at Northeastern (2-0-1) this weekend.

“He’s going to be better served playing wing,” Pecknold said. “Travis, once he got bigger and stronger, was a center for two years. As a senior he was maybe the best defensive center in the country. We’re going to do that with Odeen. We’ll let him play wing for now and eventually move him back to center.”

Tufto, a native of hockeymad Minnesota, got his start in the sport at a young age despite his father, Kris, having a basketball back-