Tripp Fischer not only has a noteworthy hockey name, but size, skill and smarts that stand out, too.
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The Prince Albert Raiders selected the well-rounded centre from Lloydminster in the third round of the Western Hockey League prospects draft May 8, a week after his 15th birthday.
Tripp Fischer, a 15-year-old forward from Lloydminster, went to the Prince Albert Raiders in the third round of the WHL prospects draft (52nd overall) on May 8. John MacNeil Meridian Source
Fischer was chosen 52nd overall and led a strong contingent of Lloydminster players picked in the early rounds of this year’s draft.
In March, he captained Delta (B.C.) Hockey Academy to the U15 prep Division 1 Western championship in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
He’s returning home this coming season to play with the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, before hopefully making the jump to the WHL at age 16 about three hours up the road in Prince Albert.
“Their team is going to be pretty good down the road,” Fischer said of the Raiders. “They’ve had lots of high picks these last few drafts.”
Watching the live draft proceedings from his home with his mother, Fischer received a congratulatory phone call from Prince Albert general manager Curtis Hunt just a couple of minutes after seeing his name pop up on the screen.
“He just told me that they had picked me and that he really liked the way I play and that he heard from other people that I was a tough guy to play against,” said the solidly built Fischer, five-foot-11 and 175 pounds.
“It felt pretty good.”
It was a range of emotions for Fischer, who was considered a first-round candidate in some pre-draft rankings.
‘NERVOUS AND EXCITED’
The opening round was conducted on the evening of May 7 as Fischer and his father Cole — a Memorial Cup champion during his WHL career — returned from a Philadelphia trip where Tripp and other top prospects had participated in an international tournament.
“We just got back from Philly last night, so we were driving for a little bit, and then once I got home here, we were sitting around and watching,” said Fischer, knowing he had a shot at a first-round selection.
“I was nervous and excited, and then I was a little let down after last night, but then I was relieved after this morning.”
Now, he’s part of a storied Prince Albert franchise that counts the likes of Mike Modano and Leon Draisaitl among its notable alumni.
Fischer has had no shortage of hockey role models, beginning with his father, a defenceman who made three appearances in the Memorial Cup championship and won the CHL title in 2002 as part of the Kootenay Ice.
The older Fischer, who’s also an Allan Cup national senior champion with the Lloydminster Border Kings, went on to coach junior A and minor hockey teams for years.
Tripp attributes his father’s coaching and guidance for developing him into a two-way player who can provide that complementary blend of offence and physicality.
“It’s a little bit of both,” he said of his playing style. “A lot of guys don’t do it anymore. It’s a two-way style of play and it’s why, I think, the Raiders picked me.
“I take pride in playing both ends of the ice. I create turnovers really well and I can put the puck in the net, too. I probably got (that persistence) from my dad. He was a pretty tough guy. Dad really pushed me to be a complete player. Ever since I started, he wanted me to play the full end of the ice and do everything.”
Tripp Fischer also has deep hockey lineage on his mother Jill’s side of the family. Her first cousin is Montreal Canadiens veteran forward Brendan Gallagher, the captain of the Vancouver Giants during his WHL days. Gallagher’s father Ian is the president of Delta Hockey Academy, which made young Tripp feel that much more comfortable playing in British Columbia the past year.
While it was a big move at the time, Fischer shook off any early homesickness and proceeded to score 29 goals and 56 points in 35 games in the CSSHL. He kept it up in the playoffs to lead Delta to gold. Scouts took note that he stepped up when the stakes were highest, firing five goals and nine points in six games at Westerns.
“I’ve always kind of been like that,” said Fischer, previously part of the Lloydminster Athletics prep program. “I’ve always played better in bigger games and against better teams.”
He takes a page from Edmonton Oilers forward Connor Brown’s playbook.
“He’s a guy that always plays better in the playoffs and he always works his ass off,” said Fischer, who has become an Oilers fan.
“I was a Habs fan growing up, because my cousin Brendan Gallagher is on the Habs, so I was a little bit forced into that. And then, I’ve been an Oilers fan two or three years now.”
Of course, he still cheers for Gallagher, too, and embraces his spunky play.
“Yeah, he’s a tough guy and he’s not that big, either,” Fischer said.
Speaking of family, Fischer is a twin. His sister Sawyer is a competitive softball player in Lloydminster. Her team went all the way to nationals last year.
NAME GAME
Tripp doesn’t believe his first name derives from hockey terminology, but more so a TV character from back in the day. “I think mom wanted to do something creative. She pitched a couple of names that dad didn’t like.”
In any event, he agrees his unique name often generates a double take.
“If I order something at Tim Hortons or somewhere, I usually say my name is Cole so that I don’t have to repeat (Tripp) a couple of times,” said Fischer, whose middle name is indeed Cole.
Even some of his friends trip up the spelling of Tripp in text messages.
“I got a couple today that said, ‘Congrats, Trip,’ with one P.”
This Tripp is on a hockey journey that takes him to the next round of Team Alberta U16 tryouts in July, before August training camps with the
Lancers and Raiders.
His father will direct summertime training for Tripp and some of his hockey buddies.
“I think he might help out a little bit, too, behind the scenes (with the Lancers), as their skills coach,” said Tripp, who has been back home since his Delta hockey season ended.
On summer weekends, he’ll head to the lake with his family for surf-boating and such fun, but it’s otherwise all business for at least five days a week of training.
“It’s hard on your muscles and stuff, but once you’re done, it actually feels good,” he said about his off-season workouts. “You feel like you’ve accomplished something for the day, rather than just sitting around.”
His recent trip to Philly gave him a glimpse of what he hopes his hockey future entails.
“They had teams from Finland, Czechia, Sweden (and elsewhere), so to play against kids from all over the world was fun and I’d like to keep doing that,” said Fischer, whose elite-prospect club was mostly from Western Canada.
In a trade with the Spokane Chiefs, Prince Albert acquired the draft pick the Raiders used to choose Fischer.
Spokane, which was Cole Fischer’s original WHL team, was one of the many clubs that scouted Tripp closely in major tournaments. In the second round, the Chiefs drafted one of his Delta teammates, defenceman Ryker Doka.
“Tripp is a really solid, 200-foot player who competes hard every shift and really has strong hockey sense,” said George Ross, Spokane’s director of player personnel. “I think he’s got a ton of leadership ability. He’s the kind of player who’s going to wear a letter — I can see — in P.A. sooner rather than later.”
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