Get To Know Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Freshman Odeen Tufto
10/20/2017 12:57:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
by Victoria Rutigliano '18, special to QuinnipiacBobcats.com
In his backyard rink in Chaska, Minn., Kris Tufto helped his son Odeen into his figure skates to join his older brother and sister, Andy and Allie, on the ice. Growing up in the "State of Hockey", it was a rite of passage for the three Tufto kids to start their athletic careers on skates.
While his start might have been in figure skating, he found his passion playing knee hockey with his brother in his basement, and from there traded in his slim figure skates for a bulkier hockey stick and skates.
Now Tufto's stage is a bit bigger than his homemade backyard rink, and in front of thousands of fans, he's proving his worth on the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team. Just three games into the season he's notched two goals and two assists, including the game-winning goal in overtime in the team's first win of the season over Vermont.
The shot that led to his team jumping off the bench to crowd him in celebration might have been one of the hundreds of goals he scored in his life, but to Tufto, it was a pretty special one.
"Definitely one of the biggest goals I've ever scored," he said. "I kind of blacked out on it. But I mean we went to overtime for the third game in a row, which is not what we wanted. But to get that win was good."
The overtime win wasn't the only thing described as good, when head coach Rand Pecknold gave his impressions of the 20 year old rookie.
"Odeen's been really good. You know, he's buying in. He's working hard at his deficiencies and obviously he's got plenty of strengths," Pecknold said. "He makes plays, he's got a really high IQ and he's poised with the puck. He's a dynamic player and obviously we need that."
Standing at 5-feet-7 inches and 175 lbs., Tufto knows his size isn't one that works in his favor. According to CollegeHockeyNews.com, more than half of the NCAA Division I teams average 6 feet or taller, and all of the teams average a height of at least 5-feet-10 inches. For Pecknold, height has never been something he's worried about.
"I think other schools tend to get a little nervous about size and we don't," Pecknold said. "Those smaller guys have done really well in our system if they have that high IQ and that high skill."
This fact was something that helped Tufto when he was choosing his school.
"When I visited here, I got to watch practice and that was the year Sam Anas was a junior and Travis St. Denis was a senior," Tufto said. "So seeing those two guys and how much they excelled as small forwards was definitely like an eye catcher to me and I think that helped in my decision."
After switching out his figure skates for hockey blades, Tufto became a standout in a state known for churning out hockey players. In fact, 199 of the Division I hockey players across 60 teams are from Minnesota, and according to MinnesotaHockey.org, 17 players from the state were drafted to the National Hockey League in 2017.
In his senior year at St. Thomas Academy outside of Minneapolis, Tufto was in the running for Minnesota's "Mr. Hockey", an award given to the outstanding senior hockey player in Minnesota each year. He posted 27 goals with 63 points in 27 games, but was edged by current Minnesota State freshman Jake Jaremko.
Tufto started out his juniors campaign with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), where he was named to the BCHL all-rookie team after scoring 25 goals and 40 assists for 65 points in 57 games.
It was at the BCHL showcase in Chilliwack in September 2015 when Pecknold decided to take his recruiting of Tufto to the next level.
"Fortunately enough, I played good enough to talk to him after the game and I just got really interested," Tufto said. "[I] took a visit in December in 2015 and then visited a couple other places and kind of felt home at Quinnipiac and made my decision to come here."
From there, Tufto switched over to playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he registered 48 points in 59 games between the three teams for whom he suited up, before coming to Quinnipiac the day after his team's playoff run ended in May.
Tufto credits his summer in Hamden to helping him bulk up and prepare for the season.
"I worked out every day, got acclimated with not only the other freshmen but other guys, and just got bigger and stronger," Tufto said. "So I was able to put on pounds and gain muscle and I still have to do that, being a smaller guy, but definitely being here that six weeks and being around campus and getting comfortable was very important for the start of the year."
With his first goal scratched off the list, and a full season ahead of him, Tufto knows what he has to do to improve.
"I kind of want to round-out my whole game. Defensively, coming in it's the biggest thing I've had an issue with," Tufto said. "And then obviously just enhance my physical stature and offensive skills and round-out my whole game so I can be a 200 foot player."
In his backyard rink in Chaska, Minn., Kris Tufto helped his son Odeen into his figure skates to join his older brother and sister, Andy and Allie, on the ice. Growing up in the "State of Hockey", it was a rite of passage for the three Tufto kids to start their athletic careers on skates.
While his start might have been in figure skating, he found his passion playing knee hockey with his brother in his basement, and from there traded in his slim figure skates for a bulkier hockey stick and skates.
Now Tufto's stage is a bit bigger than his homemade backyard rink, and in front of thousands of fans, he's proving his worth on the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team. Just three games into the season he's notched two goals and two assists, including the game-winning goal in overtime in the team's first win of the season over Vermont.
The shot that led to his team jumping off the bench to crowd him in celebration might have been one of the hundreds of goals he scored in his life, but to Tufto, it was a pretty special one.
"Definitely one of the biggest goals I've ever scored," he said. "I kind of blacked out on it. But I mean we went to overtime for the third game in a row, which is not what we wanted. But to get that win was good."
The overtime win wasn't the only thing described as good, when head coach Rand Pecknold gave his impressions of the 20 year old rookie.
"Odeen's been really good. You know, he's buying in. He's working hard at his deficiencies and obviously he's got plenty of strengths," Pecknold said. "He makes plays, he's got a really high IQ and he's poised with the puck. He's a dynamic player and obviously we need that."
Standing at 5-feet-7 inches and 175 lbs., Tufto knows his size isn't one that works in his favor. According to CollegeHockeyNews.com, more than half of the NCAA Division I teams average 6 feet or taller, and all of the teams average a height of at least 5-feet-10 inches. For Pecknold, height has never been something he's worried about.
"I think other schools tend to get a little nervous about size and we don't," Pecknold said. "Those smaller guys have done really well in our system if they have that high IQ and that high skill."
This fact was something that helped Tufto when he was choosing his school.
"When I visited here, I got to watch practice and that was the year Sam Anas was a junior and Travis St. Denis was a senior," Tufto said. "So seeing those two guys and how much they excelled as small forwards was definitely like an eye catcher to me and I think that helped in my decision."
After switching out his figure skates for hockey blades, Tufto became a standout in a state known for churning out hockey players. In fact, 199 of the Division I hockey players across 60 teams are from Minnesota, and according to MinnesotaHockey.org, 17 players from the state were drafted to the National Hockey League in 2017.
In his senior year at St. Thomas Academy outside of Minneapolis, Tufto was in the running for Minnesota's "Mr. Hockey", an award given to the outstanding senior hockey player in Minnesota each year. He posted 27 goals with 63 points in 27 games, but was edged by current Minnesota State freshman Jake Jaremko.
Tufto started out his juniors campaign with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), where he was named to the BCHL all-rookie team after scoring 25 goals and 40 assists for 65 points in 57 games.
It was at the BCHL showcase in Chilliwack in September 2015 when Pecknold decided to take his recruiting of Tufto to the next level.
"Fortunately enough, I played good enough to talk to him after the game and I just got really interested," Tufto said. "[I] took a visit in December in 2015 and then visited a couple other places and kind of felt home at Quinnipiac and made my decision to come here."
From there, Tufto switched over to playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he registered 48 points in 59 games between the three teams for whom he suited up, before coming to Quinnipiac the day after his team's playoff run ended in May.
Tufto credits his summer in Hamden to helping him bulk up and prepare for the season.
"I worked out every day, got acclimated with not only the other freshmen but other guys, and just got bigger and stronger," Tufto said. "So I was able to put on pounds and gain muscle and I still have to do that, being a smaller guy, but definitely being here that six weeks and being around campus and getting comfortable was very important for the start of the year."
With his first goal scratched off the list, and a full season ahead of him, Tufto knows what he has to do to improve.
"I kind of want to round-out my whole game. Defensively, coming in it's the biggest thing I've had an issue with," Tufto said. "And then obviously just enhance my physical stature and offensive skills and round-out my whole game so I can be a 200 foot player."
Coaches Road Show at Bears BBQ
Thursday, September 04
Alumni Game Mic'd Up (pres. by Aunt Chilada's) - Chris Cerella and Mike Lombardi
Thursday, August 21
Quinnipiac Athletics 2024-25 Highlight Video
Tuesday, May 20
2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Senior Tribute
Friday, February 21
