Little things make Quinnipiac’s Tufto a big force on the ice
Rand Pecknold says Odeen Tufto does things on the ice no hockey coach can teach.
“The way he creates time and space for himself,” Pecknold said. “Little moves, little nuances when he has the puck and how he can create space for himself as he enters the zone. He probably got it playing a lot of pond hockey. Odeen is a unique player. One of the best players in the country.”
Tufto, all 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds of him, is a senior playmaker in the truest sense. A captain point guard. A power-play magician. This may work against him in selecting the Hobey Baker Award as the premier college hockey player — goals usually rule — yet he also is unparalleled in his No. 1 asset and that is why he has found his way among the top 10 finalists.
With 38 in 28 games, Tufto has nine more assists than anyone in the country and is second overall in scoring behind Cole Caufield of Wisconsin.
“He’s been as a good as any player offensively in a season that I’ve ever had,” Pecknold told USCHO.com the other day. “He has been absolutely dominant. He’s a weapon for us in all three zones. When I put him on the ice, we have the puck.”
The Bobcats hadn’t played a game in two weeks and they came out sleepy in the first period of the ECAC championship Saturday
against St. Lawrence at People’s United Center. They fell behind on a rebound goal by Kaden Pickering. Not until eight minutes into the second period did they begin to play with speed and spunk. It would back-to-back goals by Tufto and Wyatt Bongiovanni within 12 seconds that gave No. 10 Quinnipiac a lead, but Justin Paul tied the game with 3:38 left in the third period and David Jankowski would win it 3-2 for the Saints 3:44 into overtime.
The Bobcats had a bye into the finals after Clarkson ended its season when some of the men’s and women’s players held a gathering in violation of the school’s COVID policy. St. Lawrence beat Colgate in overtime in the semis and needed a win on this Saturday to get to the NCAA Tournament. They played desperate. Even with a loss, the Bobcats stand to get an at-large bid Sunday night.
Nevertheless, it would be tough way to go out of his last home game.
Tufto can score goals, too. He did get his third goal in four games — seven for the season — after he won a faceoff. He tracked the puck near the goal line in the left corner and banked a bad angle shot off goalie Emil Zetterquist.
“Obviously, I know where I’m at with goals,” Tufto said recently. “It’s somewhere where I struggled a little bit. I’m doing my best. It’s not like I’m not trying to score goals. Obviously, I do. I got to stay with it on that front.”
So he has. And he continued Saturday as a faceoff mini-monster. Except for the 12-minute stretch in the second period, Quinnipiac was mostly bottled up. As Pecknold likes to say, when his team plays to its identity, it wins.
“We didn’t play to our identity today,” he said.
Tufto grew up in the Twin Cities area as a Minnesota Golden Gophers fan. A huge one. There were season tickets. There were autographed jerseys. Danny Irmen? Ryan Potulny? Gino Guyer? Got ‘em.
“There’s a couple of guys who played college hockey at Minnesota when I was really young who I idolized,” Tufto said. “And my dad did a really good job in the backyard and in the garage just helping me with little passing drills and playmaking drills. Over time studying hockey and studying players, watching games on TV, you’re just kind of learning.
“For me, it’s trying to think a step or two ahead of everybody. That’s what has helped me with passing, with anticipation, with vision. I learned it as a young age and have grown with it. It’s my biggest asset. I keep working on it day in and day out and believe I can always get better at it.”
More than anyone, he watched 5-9 Tyler Hirsch.
“He was such skilled passer,” Tufto said. “I got to know him a little as a kid. One time he brought me down to the locker room and showed me around. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I idolized him. I used that pass-first mentality, he was a really good skater. He used to make really good passes in tight, always faking guys out. Making the back-door passes. I learned a ton. I don’t know if he ever made the NHL.”
Hirsch didn’t. He had some personal problems. He had some academic problems. He didn’t finish at Minnesota and knocked around the ECHL for three seasons. That’s life. No one can diminish his passing ability.
Pecknold has never shied away from small players. He has been richly rewarded. Sam Anas, 5-8, and Travis St. Denis, 5-7, rolled up big career numbers for Quinnipiac. From the time they laid eyes on him, Tufto reminded the QU coaches of Anas.
“He has a nice four-year maturation,” Pecknold said. “Every year he gets better. I think he has got a little more pop in his step this year, a little more explosive in his skating. He’s a little stronger than last year, too.”
Tufto already is Quinnipiac’s all-time Division I assists leader. The goal pulled him with three points of tying the scoring mark of 169. This season, he’s first in the nation with 20 power-play assists and second in faceoff percent.
He is ECAC Hockey Player of the Year. He is ECAC Hockey first-team. He and senior goalie Keith Petruzzelli are the third and fourth Quinnipiac players to be among the 10 finalists. This is the first time two have made it in one season.
“Odeen is just a great kid, a great leader, a great captain,” Petruzzelli said. “He’s someone that is great to be around all the time. Obviously, he’s a little guy, but it never seems to matter. He’s solid. He makes great plays. He sees the ice so well.
“He makes people around him so much better and that’s one of the things that doesn’t get talked about enough with Odeen. He makes his linemates and who’s ever on the ice with him just so much better. It makes so much difference in the flow of the game, controlling tempo and controlling momentum.”
Will Tufto be among the Hobey Hat Trick (the top three) announced on April 1? He’s right there, certainly considered among the top five. The winner will be announced April 9.
“I’m not trying to look too much into it,” he said. “The award kind of take cares of itself. At the end of the day, if your team is playing well and winning, the individual guys are going to shine. This final stretch is all about the team.”
Those numbers: 5-7, 175? “At this point, I don’t even think about it anymore,” said Tufto, who’ll sift through professional offers as a free agent after the season. “I’ve been this height and weight since I was 18 when I finished high school. I’m used to it. I know some people may think of it is as a disadvantage. But for me it’s become an advantage. I know how to play at this height. I know I have to play smarter than harder.
“Obviously I’m not going to throw the body around much. I’ve got to use my hockey sense and speed to allow me to get off players and not get hit and make plays. I’m very comfortable at this height and weight. You’ve seen a lot of smaller guys play at the highest levels and that’s obviously a nice thing to see. Honestly, I enjoy it.”