Owen Tippett’s Getting Hot for the Flyers at the Right Time

This year has not been kind to the Flyers health wise. Too many people have been placed on injured reserve. Ryan Ellis is done for the year and Sean Couturier might be lucky to return at all. Cam Atkinson has been out since training camp and has only recently been seen skating. JVR most likely won’t be seen back until the new year begins.

There are fears that Travis Konecny could be out a while as well. With all of these injuries, someone has to start stepping up….or at least someone not named Carter Hart.

With the Flyers mired in a six-game losing streak, one of the few bright spots has been Owen Tippett. Tippett scored two goals, his first multi-goal game in a Flyers jersey, during Saturday night’s overtime loss to Montreal. He also has a four-game point streak going, including a goal against Boston on Thursday.

Tippett came to Philly in the trade for Claude Giroux. Considering what was given up for a rental player, not much came back for a future Hall of Famer that other teams were inquiring about. Tippett was the 10th overall pick in 2017 and was a very highly regarded prospect. So far, he has shown signs of that promise first shown as a youngster, but has yet to put it all together. He scored four goals for the Flyers in 21 games. In comparison, he scored 14 goals in 94 games in parts of three seasons for the Panthers. In 34 total games in Philly, he has found the back of the net 10 times.

Now, anyone stepping in to play where a beloved athlete once was is going to have to a hard time of it. Imagine being the rookie who has to take the place of an athlete like Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, or Tom Brady. Some guys can come in and fill the shoes of a star and take their own path. Others can’t handle the comparisons and pressures put upon them. Tippett will never be Giroux. He may be better. He may not be better. But what he will be is Owen Tippett and that’s what the Flyers need him to be.

So far for the year, he has 10 points, with six of them goals. That’s more in just 13 games this season than in the 21 games he played in last year. He’s young. He’s learning.

And now with so many people down, he’s been elevated to the Flyers’ top line’; not because he’s earned it but out of necessity. So far, he has shown he has earned it with the two goal performance against the Habs. The experience and confidence he is gaining now will go a long way into paying dividends down the road.

Coach John Tortorella has said he is going to “play the kids” and evaluate what it is that they have. As a former 10th overall pick, he obviously has the talent necessary. If he can showcase what he has now, this team can use it. He could end up playing his way into become one of the stars of this team.

Tippett’s time to shine is now. If he can start to put it together, the Flyers will reap the benefits.  It’s time to really see what we got in that trade. Who knows…it could end up becoming a steal for us.