Although Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said he'd select the best player available regardless of position, he decided to wing it after all.
Two days after losing two of his top-three right wings to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, the Panthers picked Mississauga Steelheads right wing Owen Tippett with their 10th pick in the NHL draft Friday night in the United Center.
Tallon received a huge ovation from the Chicago Blackhawks fans for helping build that franchise into a three-time Stanley Cup champion when he was their general manager.
"Right back at you," Tallon said. "I'd like to wish Bill Torrey a happy birthday, 83 years old and his 50th draft. And I'd like to say hello to our fans at Bokamper's (Panthers' watch party in Plantation). The Florida Panthers are proud to select from the Mississauga Steelheads, Owen Tippett."
Tippett, 18, tore up the Ontario Hockey League last season with 44 goals and 75 points along with a plus-24 ice rating in 60 games. He added 19 points in 20 playoff games. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound Ontario native added a goal and assist in four games for Team Canada in the Hlinka Memorial tournament last year.
A mock draft by NHL.com described Tippett as "the best shooter and one of the best skaters of this draft class." His style of play was compared to Pittsburgh sniper Phil Kessel.
"He is a dynamic and highly talented winger who was among the top goal scorers in the OHL this season," Tallon said. "Owen is an excellent skater with an NHL-caliber shot. He will be an exciting addition to our young core for years to come."
Recently hired Panthers coach Bob Boughner, who owned and is still the president of the Windsor Spitfers of the OHL, certainly has to be familiar with of Tippett, who was ranked seventh among North American skaters by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau, but the top right wing.
TSN joked that, "he's not just a shoot-first winger, he's a shoot it all winger; he's shot-generating machine and Owen Tippett is the best goal scorer in this draft."
The NHL's Central Scouting bureau said that Tippett has, "excellent acceleration and separation speed to pull away. ... prime scoring area is from anywhere inside the offensive zone because of his instant release and heavy, accurate snap shot. "(He's got a) great knack for anticipating and recognizing opportunity; all he needs is one change and the puck is in the back of the net."
Heading into the draft, Tallon said he'd take the best player available at No. 10, and then on Saturday, the final day of the draft, fill positional needs with his remaining four picks (40, 66,133,184). The Panthers were deep on the blue line but shallow up front, especially after losing top-six right wings Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
The last time the Panthers had just five picks was in 2012 when they selected defenseman Mike Matheson in the first round (23).
Tallon, a longtime proponent of size and skill up the middle, is following the recent trend of the NHL, which is emphasizing smaller, fast-skating wings.
"The trend is definitely toward speed on every team and I'll tell you we're no different," Panthers director of amateur scouting Jason Bukala told the Sun Sentinel earlier this week.
"The game has gotten exceptionally quick. The elimination of the red line a few years ago opened up more space and opened up more pace through the neutral zone, so the best teams are playing fast.
"We're looking for speed for sure, but flat out the best player could be 6-foot-3, 5-8 or 5-10. It doesn't matter. We'll look for the best player in the draft at (No. 10) and we'll manage the asset after that."
Most pundits agreed that after the top three, including centers Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick _ who as expected went to the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers respectively _ the first round was wide open.
This is the fourth player taken by the Panthers at No. 10. In 1995, they selected bottom-six forward Radek Dvorak, who went on to have a solid 23-year career; in 2006 they took forward Michael Frolik, who is still thriving as a solid bottom-six forward in the league with Calgary, and in 2007 they took defenseman Keaton Ellerby, who didn't last long.
Tallon, new coach Bob Boughner, associate coach Jack Capuano and newly hired advisor Chris Pronger are all former NHL defensemen. Tallon has often said that defensemen need more time to develop than skilled forwards.
"We're not afraid to play young players," Tallon said. "The quicker they get into the battle the more experience they get, the better they'll be long term."
In recent drafts, defenseman Aaron Ekblad (No. 1 in 2014) and center Aleksander Barkov (2nd in 2013) both made the jump right into the NHL, while Tallon gave (now Vancouver) defenseman Erik Gudbranson (No. 3 in 2010) an extra year in juniors.
He also didn't promote defensemen Matheson, Ian McCoshen (31st in 2013) and Alex Petrovic (36th in 2010) until several years after their respective draft classes.
Tallon is confident that the Panthers have enough depth at forward in their system to fill the scoring void left by Marchessault and Smith, including Henrik Borgstrom (last year's first-rounder) Jayce Hawryluk, Adam Mascherin, Denis Malgin, Juho Lammikko and Kyle Rau.
He's also high on acquisitions such as Jared McCann, Dryden Hunt and Finnish Henrik Haapala.
"We'll have depth at that position," he said. "It's a matter if they're ready or not. They'll get a chance to make our team."
