Ex Viper Tufto Receives Qualifying Offer From Komets:

The ECHL Fort Wayne Komets have issued qualifying offers to five players,

completing the ECHL rights protection process entering 2025-26. The list does not include players who have signed contracts. One of the five players is former Vernon Vipers forward Odeen Tufto.

The ECHL released the list of Players who received a valid qualifying offer from ECHL teams by the July 7 deadline. Players who had already signed a contract by July 7 did not need to receive a qualifying offer. Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players.

The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and the National Hockey League (NHL).

From https://echl.com/

Official Site of The ECHL | ECHL announces Players with Qualifying Offers

Tufto spent the 2024-25 season with the ECHL Fort Wayne Komets. The Komets signed Tufto August 6th 2024. The Komets are Tufto's seventh team in the last four years. In 36 games last season, Tufto collected (12-goals-26-assists-38-points).

Tufto split the 2023-24 season with the ECHL Iowa Heartlanders & EHC Olten.

Tufto started the 2023-24 season with the Heartlanders, after signing as a free agent July 14th 2023. Tufto was suspended by the Heartlanders December 30th 2023 & removed him from their roster. In 29 games, Tufto collected (3-goals-19-assists-22-points). Tufto signed with EHC Olten March 1st 2024. EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. In 10 games, Tufto collected (2 goals-5-assists-7-points).

Tufto played four seasons at Quinnipiac University from 2017-2021 before signing his first professional contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning March 31st 2021. The Lightning assigned Tufto to the American Hockey League Syracuse Crunch after his college season ended in 2021. Tufto has never played a game with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tufto played one season in Vernon with the 2015-16 Vernon Vipers. In 57 games with the Vipers, Tufto collected (25-goals-40-assists-65-points). Tufto left the Vipers after one season for the United States Hockey League. Tufto played one season in the USHL with Fargo, Tri-City & Sioux City before committing to Quinnipiac University for the 2017-18 season.

Odeen Tufto's Player Profile:

Odeen Tufto - Stats, Contract, Salary & More