Following the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, head coach Rick Tocchet held a brief media availability where he boiled down the Flyers lack of offense to one issue: the lack of an interior game. He mentioned it three times in the two-and-a-half-minute availability, driving the point home repeatedly.
“We’ve got too many guys who are playing on the outside, and that’s why guys are struggling to score goals. The good goal-scorers, they go to the interior. We have to do it consistently” said Tocchet.
Tocchet has made it known since the summer that he wants the Flyers to improve their puck possession and offensive cycle game — something that was sorely lacking under John Tortorella’s rush-heavy style. The new Flyers coach will have to remain patient, as the team is only seven games into the 2025-26 season and it will undoubtedly take time for his systems to become second nature for his players.
But there is one player succeeding early who is a bit of a surprise: Owen Tippett. The surprise comes not from Tippett’s lack of offensive ability, but from the uncertainty of how the speedy winger would fit in a more possession-based system, if at all.
The Data
Tippett has five goals in seven games, and his underlying metrics show solid early returns for creating offense from the middle of the ice. Looking at Natural Stat Trick’s data, Tippett ranks in the top three amongst Flyers skaters in both total and per-hour rate in high-danger shot attempts (iHDCF).
| Player | iHDCF | iHDCF/60 |
| Noah Cates | 11 | 8.11 |
| Christian Dvorak | 8 | 5.51 |
| Owen Tippett | 7 | 4.70 |
It’s worth noting that Tippett is keeping pace in terms of high-danger shot attempts with Christian Dvorak — a player who was coached by Tocchet in Arizona for 224 games. Sure, Dvorak doesn’t have the same offensive upside as Tippett, but he has a head start when it comes to Tocchet’s systems.
Looking at how he compares to his previous two seasons, he’s getting high-danger attempts at a rate more consistent with his 2023-24 season as opposed to his disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
| Stat | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
| iHDCF/60 | 4.15 | 2.75 | 4.70 |
The rates are encouraging, both from a standpoint of Tippett gelling with what Tocchet wants from his players, and for fans who are looking for him to bounce back after last season. Tippett’s tenure in Philadelphia has been frustrating for fans, as they’ve seen him show flashes of a high-end goal-scoring power forward who can dominate a game. They’ve also seen stretches where he is tentative in using his size to get to the middle of the ice, seeing as he’s showcased he’s capable of it with numerous highlight goals.
It’s something Tocchet sees in him too. Back on October 6 he laid out his vision for Tippett, saying he could “be that big guy in front [who could] tip pucks [and] jump in on loose pucks. I think that’s the next level for him. Because he can score. Now it’s getting those other type of goals he has in him.”
Looking at the finishing heatmaps from HockeyViz.com for the past two seasons — a useful visual for seeing where players are making shot attempts and scoring goals on the ice relative to league average — it’s encouraging to see that Tippett’s finishing in the interior is “hotter” than last year.
Of course it’s a skewed comparison: a full season on the left, and seven games on the right. But thus far it does speak to the question at hand: Tippett is fitting well with Tocchet’s offensive schemes.
The Eye Test
It’s not just the data that tells the story. It’s clear as day when you watch Tippett’s shifts so far this year: he’s going to the interior regularly.
The following clips highlight some things we’ve already seen from Tippett: his speed backs off defenders on zone entries, and the threat of his shot to lures them in. This combination of tools opens up space for his teammates to go to those interior spots on the ice.
The next set of clips highlights Tippett going to the middle of the ice, putting himself in good position for high-danger chances. He’s in position for screens, rebounds, deflections, back-door tap-ins, and he uses his size to stand his ground — an asset that’s been underused thus far in Tippett’s career.
And this final batch of clips is more of the same, though it’s not just good positioning. These clips show his high-danger chances, shots, and goals.
These are early returns in a long, grueling season. But signs of how Owen Tippett might fit on a Tocchet-coached team have started to emerge. We’ve known that Tippett’s speed and shot open up space in high-danger areas, but it’s encouraging to see him go to those areas consistently so far. Fans have been yearning for a 30-plus goal breakout year from Tippett. We know he can snipe and dazzle on the highlight reels, but now he’s putting himself in position for the greasy goal in his repertoire. After all, it’s not about the “how” — it’s “how many.”