Getting his Shot

 After finishing last season just 2 games away from the cup finals, many would believe there was a lot of disappointment in Florida management. Same could be said for a 3-3-2 pre-season. But nothing could be farther from the truth according to GM Dylan Wilson. “Last year was a huge step in the right direction. We had never been in the playoffs before and to come so close last year, really signifies that we are heading in the right direction. As for the disappointing pre-season, well we saw a lot of positives and I believe we will hit the ground running to start the year.”

 One of those positives was Steve Mason. The 24 year old goalie from Oakville has fallen off the past couple years. Once anointed as the future #1 of the Panthers, Mason only started 9 games last year, as he was sat in favour of Corey Crawford and Jonathan Quick most of the year. “We were battling for wins, and last year he just couldn’t get the job done and we just couldn’t find the right times to get him in,” said Coach Joe Sacco, who is in his 3^rd year as head coach for the Panthers.

 But after Quick was unable to win in the first 5 games of pre-season, which was to no fault of his own, Mason got the call for the final 3 games. Well he took the chance and ran with it, winning all 3 games, and only giving up 5 goals. For that, Mason was given opening night duties for the Panthers in net. “He truly deserves this shot. Quick is our #1, but we really want to trust Mase a lot more this season. We are hoping to give him 20 to 30 starts this year, and giving him the first game is just giving him the opportunity.”

 As for the rest of the team, there was really no surprise heading in. Head coach Joe Sacco made it quite apparent though that he would be trying to roll 3 scoring lines. Of course Captain Sidney Crosby will sit on the top line, with new assistant Patrick Elias and Bryan Little. While Backes will centre a line of Benn and Nash, and Stajan will play with Ryan and Cooke. “We will see a lot of experiment this season, we have a lot of offense and our goal is try to maximize that and give hell to any teams trying to match lines with us.”

In San Antonio Rampage news, Brad Richardson has been named captain along with Brett Sutter and Dylan Reese as assistants. “We feel all 3 give us a good sense of leadership. We expect a lot from these 3, and feel all can really add a lot for us going forward,” said coach Dallas Eakins.

 Even with the success of the pro team, the General Manager expects a lot more from the farm roster as well. “We have never made the Calder Cup playoffs and now that’s our goal. We want to build a sense of winning in this organization  and this is our shot.”