Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Ken Holland, left and new head coach Dave Tippett hold up a jersey during a press conference in Edmonton on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson)

By Glenn Hicks

Raider heritage

P.A. teacher reflects on another ex-Raider to make it big

May 28, 2019 | 5:06 PM

A local man who knows a thing or two about Dave Tippet is confident he’ll do well as the new head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.

The veteran coach, 57, became the latest foundational piece of the Oilers’ rebuild Tuesday.

Carlton High School teacher and hockey skills coach Mark Odnokon played with Tippet at the Prince Albert Raiders in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the late 70s and early 80s.

He said Tippett showed talent, tenacity and adaptability from an early age.

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“He was totally engaged in things, and actually became the world soccer skills champion along with Mike Kopchynsky around the age of 14,” he told paNOW. ”They went over to Europe and were picked as the best in the world.”

Odnokon said Tippett took that commitment onto the ice.

“He was a centreman, but he was on a power play, he killed penalties, he was out taking important face-offs,” he said. “He was a little under-sized but he made up for it with his smarts, skill and hockey sense.”

He added Tippett took the level of adaptation into his successful coaching career.

Odnokon teaches a hockey course to his high school students and noted how, like last year’s move by former P.A. Raider Jeremy Colliton to the Chicago Blackhawks’ head coaching position, Tippett was yet another example of just how far you can go in the modern game.

He’s particularly excited about what Tippett can do in Edmonton with some money behind him.

“I think he’s a great candidate to go there and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with a salary cap-friendly team and some players like [another former P.A. Raider] Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. He’s always had to struggle at the bottom with Phoenix [Arizona Coyotes] and so forth,” he said.

Tippett, who scored 53 goals and 125 points in 60 games in his first season with the Raiders in 1979-80, becomes the 16th coach in the Oilers history. More tellingly, he’s the ninth coach in the past 11 years. The Oilers hope the combination of Tippett and new GM Ken Holland will bring stability to the struggling franchise.

Tippett was previously a senior adviser to the Seattle NHL expansion team.

With files from Canadian Press

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow