MEET OWEN DEGRAFF: PLAYER PROFILE
Ask Bulldogs RW Owen DeGraff where he’s happiest, and the answer has always been at the rink, even for a kid who grew up in the sunshine state of Florida.
The Odessa, FL raised DeGraff is a 6’3” power forward who signed a Standard Players Agreement with the Brantford Bulldogs after one season with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. He finished off his 2025-26 season with a spot on the USHL All-American Team, as well as an appearance in the 2026 Chipotle All-American Game. The now 18-year-old has built a reputation as a player who skates tough, heavy and is relentless against opposing defensemen.
Through seven games of the 2026-27 season wearing a Bulldogs jersey, DeGraff has charted one assist, ten SOG and six faceoff wins. We sat down with #72 to get to know more about his path to Brantford, his family ties to professional sports and the person behind the Bulldogs logo.
For DeGraff, the rink was home long before Florida was. He grew up originally in the Chicago area and moved south around five years old. He details his earliest memory on skates alongside his father, Scott DeGraff. “My dad worked at a boarding school, and there was a rink on-campus,” he said. “That was the place to be. That’s all I wanted to do. I’d come home from school and go right to the rink.”
DeGraff’s passion, and love for hockey eventually would come at the cost of leaving home young. He was packed up, and headed to New York at the age of 14, and has been living away from home, and pursuing his dreams since.
While the living adjustment, and the balance of school and hockey might seem difficult to manage, DeGraff describes the opposite. “I’ve been living away from home for quite a while now, so I’m pretty used to balancing the two [hockey and education],”. He also points credit to his billet family for their high level of care, saying “I think we have a really great group of billets, and they make that transition pretty easy,”.
DeGraff may be far from Florida, but his parents are never out of reach and says he feels very fortunate for that. When asked about his biggest influence(s) on and off the ice, he pointed right back to them. “They gave me the opportunity to move away, and I’ve been doing it for a while now,” he said. “Without their sacrifices, I wouldn’t be here.”
DeGraff’s parents have supported, and shaped his path in other ways as well. DeGraff’s father, Scott is the Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spends his days at the facility working alongside some of the best athletes in the world.
DeGraff details how the close connection his father has to professional sports and athletes not only has given him a closer look into the work most people never see, but also how it has translated to his own lessons that have carried over to the ice. “That kind of translates to my game as well,” he said. “He’s around some of the best athletes in the world, and he sees what they put in every day.”
DeGraff also mentions that nothing makes his dad happier than being a helping hand to put an athlete back onto the field, and watching him succeed.
His support system is a testament to the mindset he carries with him today. When we asked the best piece of advice he’s ever been given, as a player and a person, DeGraff kept it simple: stick to your process.
“A lot of people are very outcome-based, whether that’s points or numbers,” he said. “Your process is more of an internal thing, what you know works for you, in school, hockey and life,”
He also highlights that it’s easy to lose perspective of the journey when you’re chasing results. “You can get wrapped up in the numbers and the big picture. Take it day by day.”
Written by Haley Anderson, Communications Intern
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Reed Duthie – Director; Broadcasting & Communications ● 905-520-8177 [email protected]
