Panthers Draft (2012 Edition)

45^th Overall Pick

Dalton Thrower, Defenseman, Saskatoon Blades

Born: December 20^th, 1993 North Vancouver, BC

HT: 6’0”   WT: 185lbs

GM’s Take:

“This was the first time since we took over in 08’ in which we didn’t pick in the 1^st round. But we were lucky enough to get a 1^st round talent all the way into the 2^nd round. This guy is in the exact mold of a Kevin Bieksa, he is offensively gifted, can run a PP and has the grit and determination to be a very successful D in this league. He still needs to work on his defensive game and become more aggressive against some of the quicker players in the league. But we feel we added a tremendous talent to an already deep pool of defensemen.”

61^st Overall Pick

Joonas Korpisalo, Goalie, Jokerit U20

Born: April 28^th, 1994 Pori, Finland

HT: 6’2” WT: 168lbs

GM’s Take:

“This draft wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t take a goalie. And when we saw Joonas still on the board, we figured why wait to take one, when we can grab a one of the better goalies in the draft here.  Joonas comes from the goalie factory known as Finland and he really possess a lot of great abilities already that could make him an NHL goalie. He has the size to begin with that allows him to take away the bottom of the net, but he also never gives up on a play and the fact that he can get into position very quickly, allows him to make a lot of quick saves. He is obviously a long term project, we don’t even expect him to jump overseas for another 2 to 3 years and even then we see that he will need time in the AHL. But if he continues to develop at this rate, we got a very good goalie on our hands.”

91^st Overall Pick

Marcus Kruger, Centre, Chicago Blackhawks

Born: May 27^th, 1990 Stockholm, Sweden

HT: 6’0”   WT: 181lbs

GM’s Take:

“One of these guys who had been passed up for years in the MRFHL, we knew for sure that he wouldn’t last long this year and we made sure we got him. Marcus is a solid 2-way player with offensive potential to be even better. The main draw with Kruger is that he can jump straight into our lineup this season and play effectively on our bottom lines, which is really rare to find in a draft. We feel he has the potential to get even better, but at this point he is already well worth the pick.”

96^th Overall Pick

Samuel Fejes, Left Wing, Shattuck St.Mary’s

Born: May 31^st, 1994 Anchorage, Alaska

HT: 6’1”   WT: 190lbs

GM’s Take:

“Every year there is that one player that you feel is such a huge steal, that you feel giddy as you are making the pick. That’s exactly how we felt when we took Fejes. He’s got everything you want in a player, he has the size, he is strong and he is a great skater. His offensive game developed leaps and bounds this past season and was really starting to find the net with ease.  He is going straight to Colorado College this year and if he continues to shine and progress there, this is a guy who can easily project into the top 2 lines of our team in the future.”

101^st Overall Pick

Logan Nelson, Centre, Victoria Royals

Born: September 9^th, 1993 Rogers, Minnesota

HT: 6’1”   WT: 178lbs

GM’s Take:

“Logan has got the offensive talent and mindset to be a very good player in this league. He reads the play well and can make passes easy into tight areas. He is solid defensively as well and can really play a two-way game well. What he needs to do is really start to use his size more and become more physical and harder to knock off the puck. He is an interesting project for us and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the next few years.”

111^th Overall Pick

Austin Wuthrich, Right Wing, University of Notre Dame

Born: August 11^th, 1993 Bakersfield, California

HT: 6’1”   WT: 196lbs

GM’s Take:

“Austin was passed up in last year’s draft, but after heading to Notre Dame this past year and really impressing in his freshman year, he really jumped up in our draft list. He has got the size and physicality to be an effective checking line winger but his offensive game took an unexpected turn up this past season that maybe give him another dynamic. We are going to be watching closely this season and see if his offensive game continues to improve but at this point we hope he develops into a very good checking line winger.”

121^st Overall Pick

Dane Fox, Centre, Erie Otters

Born: October 13^th, 1993 Thamesville, Ontario

HT: 6’0”   WT: 185lbs

GM’s Take:

“We had plenty of 5^th rounder’s to work with and we really lucked out in grabbing Fox. We really feel that he is low risk player that could really have a high reward. He’s a guy who is already very capable on the defensive side of the game and he is willing to do all the dirty work; block the shots, go into the corner and makes the hits. So right away we feel we got a guaranteed 3rd/4^th liner who can be a great energy player, but he does have some very interesting offensive potential. He was buried in London but after getting traded to Erie, he really started to shine when he was given the top line minutes. Though unfortunately this could have been his year to dominate, he had surgery for a broken foot and will miss well over a month to start the year.”

125^th Overall Pick

Tobias Rieder, Right Wing, Kitchener Rangers

Born: January 10^th, 1993 Landshut, Germany

HT: 5’11”   WT: 190lbs

GM’s Take:

“Tobias was passed up in the MRFHL last season, and there was no chance that would happen again this season.  He had a good rookie year in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers but it was this past season where he really broke out. He scored over 40 goals and was top 10 in OHL scoring last season.  He has tons of skill and works well on both sides of the puck. The main question going forward is how will he stand up against more physical and bigger players and will his skill be enough to overcome a smaller size. We feel he has huge potential to be a top 6 forward and we continue to show that we are not afraid of size, as long as you have the skill.”

133^rd Overall Pick

Martin Gernat, Defenseman, Edmonton Oil Kings

Born: April 11^th, 1993 Kosice, Slovakia

HT: 6’5”   WT: 191lbs

GM’s Take:

“We went to other side of the scale with this pick. After taking a small and skilled forward who was passed up on last year, we took a hulking defenseman who was passed up in last year’s draft. Martin may be a 6’5 D but he is very offensively gifted on the backend. Last year he really impressed us after jumping to the WHL and putting up 55 points in 60 games in his rookie year with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He is a guy that just with size, is an imposing defensive player but he has shown that he can be a very good offensive weapon and that has made him a very interesting prospect.”

136^th Overall Pick

Gianluca Curcuruto, Defenseman, Plymouth Whalers

Born: February 25^th, 1994 Richmond Hill, Ontario

HT: 6’1”   WT: 198lbs

GM’s Take:

“The progression of Curcuruto has obviously been disappointing, considering he is a former first rounder in the OHL. He showed a lot of good offensive tools in his rookie year, but this past season it seemed to dry up. With this pick we are more betting on him being a defensive defenseman. He is not the most physical guy but he anticipates the play very well, can move the puck and can be a key part of any PK. We feel he can be a very good bottom pairing D for us in the future and if his offensive game returns, that’s just an added bonus.”

140^th and 141^st Overall Pick

Ryan/Matt Rupert, C/LW, London Knights

Born: June 2^nd, 1994 Grand Bend, Ontario

HT: 5’9”   WT: 186/178lbs

GM’s Take:

“The chance to select these twin brothers back to back was just too good for us to pass up.  Both these guys despite their size are hardworking and determined players. Both will play a physical game and will finish their checks even though they are the smaller guys on the ice. Both of them will have to learn the line in which not to cross over and take bad penalties at the worst times. Ryan at this point seems to have more hockey sense and offensive potential then his brother, but the ability to keep them both together and hopefully have both of them in our roster at one point is something we are very excited about.”