1-On-1 with Sam Lipkin

Roadrunners Forward Sam Lipkin joined Adrian Denny on this week’s Insider Podcast from this Summer’s Prospect and Development Camp to talk about his pro debut late last season with the Roadrunners and what’s next for 2024-2025. For the complete conversation, including Sam and Adrian drafting their favorite kinds/cuts of meat, about Sam’s longtime friendship with Josh Doan and first Kim and Adrian get started on the first week of player signings; download the full episode below.

Listen to “Holiday Week At Camp With Sam Lipkin” on Spreaker.

This is your fourth development camp with the organization since you were drafted in 2021, can you tell over the course of time the type of players, the styles and the personalities that the organization is aiming to bring in, can you see kind of a mold?

Four years is a long time, I’ve seen a lot of players come in and out. They’ve had a great plan with Bill Armstrong, getting big, fast; I’m six-foot-two and I’m one of the smallest guys at the camp so kind of a common theme; big size, great guys and I feel like each year I kind of grab more relationships with new guys coming in; it’s been great and just a lot of great people around here.

You came in last year with three weeks left in the season; but you weren’t the new guy because we knew you from the development camps and the rookie camps; our coaches knew you; you were ready to go to work and hit the ground running.

That’s one of the great things about their development camp. I think they do a great job; you kind of get to know the coaches as people and all of the skill development guys and the player personnel guys that you don’t really see too much during the year; you really get to interact with them. Obviously it made my transition to Tucson very seamless with the coaching staff; having done their practices, their drills; kind of seeing what they like before even stepping foot in Tucson. It’s been great, these development camps have been great and I’m just super pumped to get out here again.

Any other sports you play?

I played roller hockey growing up if that counts? I’ve been taking up golf. It’s been a majority of my summers the last two summers. Probably four or five times a week, I’ve been doing the twilight golf; go out like 6:30 p.m. and walk 9 or 18 by myself, it’s very peaceful. I’m fortunate enough that we just joined North Hills Country Club in Philadelphia and me and my dad have been using the membership well. It’s been great there at the course.

Roadrunners Rapid Fire Questions: Sam described the below in one word:

Fourth of July: America
Hot Dogs or Hamburgers: Hot Dogs
College Hockey: The best
First Offseason As a Pro: The life
AHL Hockey: The jungle
Hockey in the Desert: Deserves to be there
Pro Debut: One of the best moments of my life
Favorite Offseason Activity: Golf
Favorite Vacation Spot: Italy
Favorite Non-Hockey Pro Sports Team: Philadelphia 76ers

The organization was really proud, really excited to bring you in. What was that like keeping in contact with everyone from being drafted in 2021 until signing your entry-level contract in March?

That was a great feeling. The player development staff, have to shout them out (Director of Player Development Coach) Lee Stempniak and (Skills Coach) Nathaniel Brooks; those are the two guys who kind of took me under their wings; I did video with them for the past four years; every single week. As I went to Quinnipiac, Nathaniel took over, came and saw me probably four or five times each year. It’s great and kind of just gives you that support that you’re really working towards something bigger than yourself. Making the jump from college to pro was a decision that I was going to have to make eventually. It was easy flowing communication with them, obviously got out to Tucson really quick; so it couldn’t have gone any better.

You’ve been on some really teams, not just the NCAA Championship at Quinnipiac and the Clark Cup with the Chicago Steel in the USHL. It’s fun to be on winning teams and I’m sure looking at those teams you had special players that fit together with good coaches and we feel a lot of that in this organization; you came right into it in Tucson last year.

I feel winning a championship at any level is really hard and I’ve been able to go through the ringer of: high school state championship, into the Clark Cup, into the National Championship and I think that those three championships kind of molded me as a person and it excites you to want to be on a winning team and it kind of gives you a retrospective of how selfless you really have to be to contribute to team success. And honestly team success is when the personal success comes, so being part of those championship teams is awesome and allows me to grow and learn even more from other people who have won and been through types of those experiences too.