FRASER, Mich. – While most of the Metro Jets players come from Michigan’s East Side, the club occasionally gets players from other hockey hotbeds in the state.
Zack Kippe is a second-year Jets forward out of Goodrich, a small rural town in the Flint suburbs.
The 20-year-old was part of Metro’s Fraser Cup national championship a season ago after getting into junior hockey in 2016-17 out West.
“I came back after my first year of juniors after my team ended up disbanding,” said Kippe. “I knew of the Jets but didn’t have any connections to the team. I ended up coming and skating at their pre-draft camp and got offered a spot from my performance there. The Jets organization as a whole is amazing from the staff to facilities it provides all the necessary tools for improvement. Everyone is here because they want to be here, and they want to get better. That attitude is contagious.
“Last season, the things we worked on in practice helped me to build better habits in games and helped me improve my all-around game. With all I had learned last year, I was able to pick back up this year and focus more on specific skills that I needed to improve. Winning the national championship last season was an amazing experience and being a part of that was something special. The feeling still hasn’t quite worn off.”
This season, Kippe also traveled with the Jets to China to play in the Bauer Junior World Cup last month.
Back home, he has three goals and three assists for six points in 10 games this season.
Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville said that Kippe is a very coachable player that just wants to keep improving.
“Kippe has been a model player in this program,” said Quenneville. “He came here green and put in the work to improve on his game. He works hard every day, is committed to the process and does a lot of little things on the ice that make him noticeable other than on the stat sheet. We have seen tremendous gains and if he continues to get stronger on and off the ice, he will see this benefit him next year. Our goal is to continue to push him on his goals and provide him the platform for the best exposure.”
Growing up, Kippe picked up the game of hockey at home.
“I got started playing just skating around on my pond in the backyard and eventually went out and started playing house hockey in Lapeer when I was six,” Kippe said. “Played house for two years and then moved to travel playing for the Lapeer Storm. My travel team in Lapeer ended up dissolving and after that, I ended up playing in Flint for the Flint Phantoms. I played there for four years before going back to the Storm once again.”
Looking to the future, Kippe has reachable aspirations in mind.
“This season, I hope we can establish ourselves as one of the top teams in the USPHL,” said Kippe. “As for myself, I hope to improve different parts of my game to make me an all-around better player.
“My goal for hockey is to go on to play in college after this season. While playing, I want to pursue a degree in geology.”
