Winger Owen Tippett relishes chance to ‘pay it back’ with Flyers’ Learn to Play hockey program
Tippet, who said he's "all good" after he was knocked out of the playoffs with multiple injuries, is an ambassador for the program that outfits kids with equipment and teaches them the game.
Starting Thursday, Owen Tippett will begin preparations for his seventh full NHL season and fifth in Philly. For the 27-year-old, the memories aren’t always at the forefront, but now and then, a picture pops up and reminds him of his days skating as a kid in Toronto.
This is why the Flyers winger is also entering his third straight season serving as an ambassador for the Flyers Learn to Play Rookie Program.
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“Obviously, that’s how a lot of hockey careers start, is in learn to play. Anytime you get a program that kind of helps out the way the Flyers do, it’s always nice to help them out when you can, and to have your name behind something like that means a lot,” said Tippett, who is joined by his wife Taylor, who also grew up playing hockey, as an ambassador.
“We all started out at that point, and I can still remember playing and learning how to skate too. So to pay it back in any way is always special.”
Launched in 2017, the Flyers Learn to Play Rookie Program has introduced more than 6,700 kids to hockey. Last year saw a record-breaking 33% increase in registration and more than 200 girls participate.
Many of those girls first got a taste of the sport on World Girls Hockey Weekend, where young women can try hockey for free. This year, the weekend will be held Oct. 16-18 at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees or Havertown’s Skatium.
“If you’re a kid that’s growing up playing hockey in this area, odds are you’re going to be a Flyers fan — we hope that’s the case — but we try and make sure that we’re always present in the rinks and in the hockey community, sort of at every step of development, so that they always feel that pull and they feel that connection to the Flyers,” Rob Baer, the team’s senior director of community relations and hockey development, told The Inquirer. ”It starts at the very beginning.”
To grow the game and make participating in the sport easier despite the steep cost, each player in the program gets outfitted from head to toe with hockey equipment — including skates and a bag to carry all the gear — a personal welcome message from the Tippetts, a certificate of completion signed by Owen, and the chance to meet Flyers alumni at select sessions.
This season, the program, which costs $299, will operate at 20 rinks across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Families seeking financial assistance can apply for the 2026 Flyers Charities Scholarship.
On Monday, after wrapping up his own hockey session — he said he is “all good” and ready to go after missing the second round of the playoffs due to an internal bleeding issue and an unrelated sports hernia — Tippett met two graduates of the Learn to Skate program. Tessa Kobal, 7, from Voorhees, and 8-year-old Eleanor McDermott from Cherry Hill. Both were brand new to the sport this past spring.
“There was this birthday party; it was an ice skating birthday party, and I liked ice skating, so my parents signed me up for Learn to Skate, and I decided I wanted to do hockey, not figure skating,” said Eleanor, who, like Tessa, participated in a girls-only session of the Learn to Play program this spring.
“She hadn’t touched a hockey stick — we did skating — and then she said, ‘Well, I kind of like hockey,’” added Eleanor’s father, Travis McDermott. “ … Then Learn to Play came up and she did that once and [it was like], ‘Oh, yeah, tryouts are next week.’”
Without much preparation, Eleanor and Tessa each tried out and made the Philadelphia Liberties under-10 and under-8 teams, respectively. The Liberties are an all-girls hockey club based out of the Flyers Training Center.
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The pair finished out the Learn to Play program, and now the dynamic duo is tearing it up on the ice in No. 1 (Tessa) and No. 99 (Eleanor) jerseys. Tessa is enjoying scoring goals — she also plays dek hockey and proudly recalled the time she scored four during a game in Medford. — and Eleanor, a speedy player who likes to play defense and already has a game under her belt, is excited to work on her crossovers.
“It’s great,” Tippett said about giving back to the community. “Obviously we’re super busy, and anytime you get the chance to, not only with this, but we’ve gone to children’s hospitals, and around the holidays we’ll do extra stuff. It’s an easy ask, and it’s an easy answer to say yes, to get out in the community and meet people.
“Obviously, [with] what we do, it’s nice to get a break and get away from the game a little bit and give back. The fans do so much for us, and the least we can do is be out in the community, showing how much we appreciate them.”
