Owen Tippett at center? Whatever it takes for persistent Flyers

Rick Tocchet looked down the bench on Saturday in San Jose, Calif. It was already depleted with no Sean Couturier, Luke Glendening, or Denver Barkey due to injury, and Tocchet needed a center.

The problem was the Flyers only had three pivots in the lineup against the Sharks, Noah Cates was in the penalty box, and Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras had been on the ice for a power play that — finally — scored.

» READ MORE: The Flyers had a perfect California trip. Now a huge week awaits in their push for the playoffs.

Meet Owen Tippett, NHL center.

“I looked at the assistants [and said], ‘I need a center here.’ And then, Tipp looked at me and goes, ‘I’ll play center.’ Just like that,” the bench boss recalled with a laugh on Monday after a Flyers optional practice.

“And I thought that was a cool moment. I go, ‘OK, get out there.’ We kind of laughed, and he went out there and played center a couple of times. So that’s a pretty cool moment to see a guy that [says] I’ll do it, coach.”

So there he was, taking a center ice faceoff, and playing down the middle for 38 seconds with wingers Garnet Hathaway and Garrett Wilson. He’s played center sporadically over the years and while he lost the faceoff to Michael Misa, Tippett played the position well as the low man in the defensive zone.

“Given our lineup the last couple games, we knew someone was going to have to step in and play positions that they weren’t doing, and obviously, [Emil] Andrae was playing center, and he’s a defenseman,” said Tippett who chuckled when asked initially about playing center.

“It was just kind of in the flow of the game. I don’t know if I’m throwing that offer out if the draw is in the defensive zone.”

Back in May after he was hired, Tocchet told The Inquirer, “Owen Tippett is a guy who I feel has another level in him. I think he’s a prototypical big, fast winger. Can we unleash him?“

Tippett has officially been unleashed this season. A power forward with insane speed who can play not just at even strength but on the power play and the penalty kill — and can throw a mean hit also. On Saturday, he ran over Sharks star forward Macklin Celebrini just over 10 minutes into the game. It was one of 137 hits he’s laid in 69 games this year, second on the Flyers behind Hathaway.

“Honestly, I didn’t even realize I got him as good as I did until I saw it after,” said Tippett, who had 115 hits across 77 games last season. “I had the puck and he was coming towards me, and it was almost like a reverse hit.

“But, yeah, I think I made the comment during the game, Willie gets us started with a big fight. Catesy steps in and protects a guy, does it smartly. [Nick Seeler] has a huge hit. [Noah Juulsen] has a huge hit. It’s just the time of year. You’re going to have to take hits. You’re going to have to give hits. It’s all part of the game.”

He can be humble and modest, but Tippett has set the tone not only with his physicality but also his hands.

The Flyers are 9-2-1 in their last 13 games and Tippett has been a key contributor. He has five goals and six points in the past eight games. He has 24 goals and 42 points this season and is closing in on his career highs of 28 goals and 53 points, set in 2023-24.

“When I took [the] job this summer ... they talked to me [about how] we’ve got to get this guy’s potential,” Tocchet said of Tippett. “But, that’s just coach and player relationship, how we both see how the game is played, and stuff like that. He’s allowed some freedom; he’s a game breaker type of guy but he’s also done some nice stuff, like where he’s dug in, or that great hit against Celebrini. That’s a big thing. It’s nice to see him do that.”

Couturier, Glendening, and Barkey participated in the optional practice on Monday. Tocchet said they could be possibilities on Tuesday when the Flyers host the Columbus Blue Jackets at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu). The Flyers trail the Blue Jackets by five points for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. Columbus is also tied with the New York Islanders, the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, in points, but has played one fewer game. ... The Flyers announced on Monday that they have signed forward Alex Čiernik to a three-year entry-level contract that will begin in 2026-27. Selected in the fourth round in 2023, the 21-year-old Čiernik began the season with the Lahti Pelicans in Liiga, Finland’s top men’s league, before returning to Nybro Vikings IF of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest pro league. Across the two organizations, he had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 40 games.