He started last season as Peter Tufto and then took on the first name of Odeen in honour of his late grandfather.
Whatever name you called Tufto, it usually came after a dynamic pass or move as he was a crowd-pleaser with the B.C. Hockey League Vernon Vipers.
Tufto, a 19-year-old from Minnesota, is eligible to return to the Snake Pit, He has chosen instead to play for the Fargo Force of the U.S. Hockey League. The 5-foot-7, 155-pound roadrunner was drafted seventh overall in Phase 2 of the USHL draft of players with birthdates before the year 2000.
“He thinks I’m mad, but I’m not,” said Viper head coach/GM Mark Ferner. “It’s not about me, it’s about him. He said he liked the team, the city, his billets and his teammates. He wanted to be closer to home and he has family in Fargo. One thing is for sure: we’ll have a new leading scorer next season.”
Tufto rang up 25 goals and 65 points in 57 games and pocketed three goals in five playoff games as the Vipers bowed to the Penticton Vees in Round 1.
Fargo is a university town of 118,000. The Force averaged 3,498 fans a game last season, third best in the 17-team USHL. They finished fifth in the Western Conference.
Prior to starting his junior hockey career, Tufto played with St. Thomas Academy High School in Minnesota where he suited up in 71 games over three seasons, amassed 47 goals and 120 points.
He is committed to the NCAA Division I Quinnipiac University Bobcats following for the 2017-18 season.
The Vipers now have eight returning players up front, including Christian Cakebread, who has de-committed with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and will likely be one of the first Vipers to sign a scholarship this fall.
Cakebread produced 12 goals and 30 points in 35 games with Vernon after two seasons with Fargo. The Arizona product played Under 16 hockey in Arizona with projected NHL first overall pick Auston Matthews.
Colton McCarthy, Riley Brandt, Jagger Williamson, Jimmy Lambert, Steven Jandric, Hunter Zandee and Brett Stapley head the list of returning forwards.
Ferrner will run a recruiting camp July 29 in Detroit. Vernon’s main camp starts Aug. 22.
