Florida Panthers pick Lake Barrington’s Tyler Inamoto in NHL draft

Daniel I. DorfmanPioneer Press

After not being selected on the first night of the NHL draft, Lake Barrington‘s Tyler Inamoto woke up before 6 a.m. Saturday morning to go for a run.

He wanted to clear his head and get rid of some nerves.

“It is a lot harder to wait around because you are still thinking about who is going to pick you and where you are going to go,” Inamoto said.

Before too long, the butterflies in his stomach were gone. With Inamoto and his family in attendance at the United Center, the Florida Panthers selected him in the fifth round, 133rd overall.

“It’s hard to describe,” said Inamoto, an 18-year-old defenseman. “It was a lot of waiting. Just to hear my name called was pretty emotional.”

Florida’s executives said they were drawn to Inamoto’s aggressiveness and attitude, as well as his 6-foot-2, 194-pound frame.

“He is big and mobile and plays a mean game,” Florida general manager Dale Tallon said. “He is very physical, and that is something we wanted to add. We talked about adding ‘speed, skill and sandpaper,’ and he brings that element to our draft.”

Jason Bukala, the Panthers’ amateur scouting director, described Inamoto as a “relentless competitor.”

“He’s a nasty individual around the net and in the corners, and I think we would be lying to ourselves if we felt we didn’t need to add that element back into the equation,” Bukala said. “He is a big, strong skating player who is going to make the first pass, but he also knows he is not likely going to score a lot at the NHL level. Anytime a kid identifies well and he has a little bit of a smile on his face when he talks about being a tough player and enjoying that part of the game, it’s kind of nice.”

Inamoto was born in New Jersey, but later his family moved to the Chicago area. As he pursued hockey, he graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. He played for the U.S. National Under-18 Team, where he tallied 13 points. He also played for the U.S. National Team Development Program in the USHL and added seven points in 17 games.

Inamoto, who shoots left-handed, described himself as a “defenseman’s defenseman” who is physical in his own zone and makes good passes. He said he wants to add weight and continue to hone his stickhandling, passing and shooting skills.

Inamoto said he would be making his first trip to Florida this week as part of the Panthers’ development camp, where he will join fellow Panthers draft pick Max Gildon, a teammate in the U.S. National Team Development Program.

After that camp concludes, Inamoto will head to Wisconsin to play for Tony Granato. Unlike in other pro sports, NHL draftees are free to play collegiately and join the pro franchise down the road.

“I’ll see how it plays out, and when (the Panthers) give me the opportunity I’m obviously going to take it and make the most of it,” Inamoto said.

Inamoto pointed to his Japanese heritage and interest in the samurai as reasons for his hockey success. The NHL does not track players’ heritage, but very few people of Japanese ancestry have made it to the NHL.

“It relates a lot to hockey,” Inamoto said of Japanese and samurai culture. “You have to respect your opponents, teammates and everybody that contributes to the organization that you are playing for.

“Hockey is a lot of courage and passion and integrity, so I think most of the principles of the samurai code are applicable to hockey.”

Source: Florida Panthers pick Lake Barrington’s Tyler Inamoto in NHL draft