Florida Panthers: Owen Tippett Has a Point to Prove at Training Camp

With his first true test on the NHL horizons quickly approaching, Florida Panthers rookie Owen Tippett needs to be able to buckle down and earn his role at training camp.

Owen Tippett was highly regarded as one of the better scorers in the 2017 draft class and for good reason. The right-winger dominated midget leagues as a sixteen-year-old before exploding for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads.

At age eighteen, Tippett dominated the OHL during the 2016-17 season. His 75 points (44G & 31A) in 60 games for the Steelheads made him one of the most highly sought-after prospects in Canada.

What really made Tippett appealing was his 2017 playoff run. Tippett played twenty games, bagging 19 points (10G & 9A) and leading the Steelheads to the OHL Playoff Finals. They, unfortunately, fell short, losing in five to Alex DeBrincat’s Erie Otters.

The Florida Panthers, in heavy need of a true goal-scorer (Mike Hoffman hadn’t been traded to Florida yet), selected Tippett tenth overall, and the expectations were through the roof. Tippett was projected as a franchise winger for Florida, and in their current situation, they might need those expectations to come true.

Tippett made his NHL debut in the following October. He played just seven games at the NHL level, scoring once against the Anaheim Ducks before returning to Mississauga. In those seven games, we never really got to see Tippett’s full potential, as the 18-year-old failed to quickly adapt to the NHL’s speed (understandably, not many 18-year-olds can).

Fast-forward a few seasons and Tippett has continued to dominate in Canada. Recording 149 points in 105 games is no small feat, and now, Tippett has his eyes set on a much higher prize.

Tippett, now 20, is expected to make the Florida Panthers’ opening roster, with some sources predicting Tippett could be used on the third line to start the campaign. While this kind of news is exciting, I believe it might be a little more based on hype rather than legitimate expectation.

Think about it, Tippett has yet to play 10 games at the NHL level, and is now being projected to play roughly 14-16 minutes per night for a potential contender? For me, it doesn’t quite add up, at least for now.

While it could be more skeptical thinking than required, I’m not ready to call Owen Tippett a legit third-line scorer. He’s unproven, has major flaws defensively, and might not be better than Frank Vatrano or Aleksi Heponiemi, yet.

This is what training camp is going to be all about for players like Tippett. Throughout the next month, players aren’t just going to be improving and preparing for the new season, they’re fighting for their spots and roles on the roster. Names like Tippett, Heponiemi, Jayce Hawryluk, Josh Brown, and Ian McCoshen are all players that have no guarantees for playing time yet.

In terms of past experience for Florida, it may not mean all that much heading into September. New head coach Joel Quenneville is going to run with talent that he believes gives his team the best potential, and that kind of talent needs to be showcased in practice, in the gym, and during the preseason games.

For Tippett, I think there’s nothing guaranteed for the twenty-year-old going into camp. Sure, the expectation is that he makes the team, but players can fail to live up to those expectations, too. There has to be a wake-up call for guys like him, to make sure they bring it during the preseason.

Thinking back a bit, Henrik Borgstrom failed to make the opening roster at the start of last season. Yes, Borgstrom wound up playing a majority of the season with the Cats at a third-line level, but his preseason was seen as a letdown for Florida.

Overall, Tippett shouldn’t take training camp lightly. When it comes to basing talent, there aren’t many better eyes out there than Coach Q, as he’s going to make the decisions best for the team right now, not a couple of months down the road. Tippett has to focus on both meeting and exceeding expectations to make the opening night roster.