Florida Panthers Prospect Report 2017

10. Joe Hicketts, D, 21, [Kamloops, British Columbia]

5’8, 174lbs

Drafted by the Panthers in the 5^th round (137th Overall) in 2014

Joe Hicketts has hit every checkmark management has set out for him ever since he was drafted by the Panthers in 2014. He was named captain of his junior team and dominated in the WHL. He was named to two Canadian World Junior teams, picking up a Gold medal in 2015. And now even still as an undersized defenceman, he’s put up good numbers in his first pro season, having an excellent playoff and is now two wins away from a Calder Cup (so are the Springfield Falcons by the way). With so many talented young D in the Panthers system, which will be covered extensively throughout the list, it buys a lot of time for Hicketts to develop. Expect him to join Springfield next season. “We’ve been a huge fan of Joe since the moment we drafted him. One of the most talented in the draft that was completely overlooked due to his height and the injury he sustained in his draft year. We envision him playing a year or two in the AHL, and hopefully start pushing the guys that are just above him on the depth chart.”

9. Vladislav Kamenev, C, 20, [Orsk, Russia]

6’2, 185lbs

Drafted by the Panthers in the 2^nd round (33rd Overall) in 2014

The Panthers first pick from the 2014 draft, Vladislav Kamenev has also been progressing as planned. The big Russian has also appeared in two World Juniors, an AHL All-Star game and improving in his second year in North America. Vladislav seems to be getting more comfortable on the smaller ice surface and finding the scorers on the team, which ended up becoming playoff heroes Pontus Aberg and Frederick Gaudreau. The next step for Vlad is probably turning pro and joining the ever changing AHL affiliate, where they expect to take another run at a championship. “We can’t wait to get a long look at Kam next season, and I know Glen Gulutzan and his staff are looking to try him in all sorts of situations. He’ll probably start on the wing, but he has the playmaking ability and vision to be a great two-way centre.”

8. Jeremy Bracco, RW, 20, [Freeport, New York]

5’9, 181lbs

Drafted by the Panthers in the 2^nd round (54th Overall) in 2015

It’s hard to envision Jeremy Bracco could have a better year than this past one. Early in the new year he won a Gold medal with Team USA at the World Juniors, and then capped it off with a Memorial Cup win where he was easily the best player in the championship game.  So what is next for Bracco? He won’ t be able to join the Panthers organization next season, but that’s not worrying GM Dylan Wilson. “We are not in any rush to get Jeremy in the lineup. He’s going to have all the time in the world to get up as we have two 21-year olds on the right wings at this moment. He’ll spend another year in junior and will join our AHL team for the 2018-19 season. We envision being a very dangerous player, and as an ultimate peak and hopefully for us, a guy in the Johnny Gaudreau mold.”

7. Haydn Fleury, D, 20, [Carlyle, Saskatchewan]

6’3, 220lbs

Acquired in a Trade with the Calgary Flames

While Marc-Edouard Vlasic is playing top pair for a team in the finals, the consolation for the Panthers as they had to clear up cap space this summer was the ability to pick up Haydn Fleury. While his first-year pro wasn’t his coming out party, he seemed to be getting more and more comfortable as the season went on including putting up 5 points in the last 8 games and logging big minutes to get Charlotte to squeak in to the playoffs. "With 3 guys under the age of 27 that are legit top pairing guys, we have time with Haydn. We had talent up top but we had no one to push on behind them, and that’s been our strategy the last few summers. We have high hopes going forward for Haydn and can’t wait to see him with Springfield next season.”

6. Ilya Sorokin, G, 21, [Mezhdurechensk, Russia]

6’2, 176lbs

Acquired in a Trade with the Colorado Avalanche

It seems like Ilya Sorokin has accomplished everything he can in the KHL except win the Gagarin Cup. His well sub below 2 GAA over the last two years (1.06 in 2015/16) has been absolute domination. As a backup at the last two World Championships he has yet to concede a goal. So when will he come to North America? It sounds like Ilya will spend another year in the KHL, but the Panthers are just waiting to pounce when he finally wants to make the move. “We know CSKA Moskva plays a really defensive system, but you still need to stop the puck and he has proven that tenfold and has shown that he can make the game saving stop when called upon. Developing goalies has been a fairly weak spot for us, but we are being cautiously optimistic that Ilya is a guy who can be our future at the spot.”

5. Daniel Sprong, RW, 20, [Amsterdam, Netherlands]

6’0, 181lbs

Acquired in a Trade with the New York Islanders

With an injury keeping Daniel Sprong out for most of the year, he showed no signs of rust or inability of getting back up to game speed when he returned to the Charlottetown lineup. Daniel continued to show his prolific goal scoring ways, proving he’s too good to be in the QMJHL, scoring over a goal per game. He’s already proven in two years, that he can play in the NHL, he is ready for the AHL and that he is poised to hit the highlight reel on a nightly basis. “Trade Brock Nelson was a hard thing for us to do, but to get a guy of Sprong’s caliber was something that we could not pass up. He is a guy who continues to just work and work to reach where he is and is just another dynamic guy we can add to the pool.”

4. Shea Theodore, D, 21, [Langley, BC]

6’2, 194lbs

Drafted by the Panthers in the 1st round (24th Overall) in 2013

After aggressively working to trade up in the 2013 draft the Panthers had one name on their list, that was Shea Theodore. The smart puck moving defenceman was highly coveted by GM Dylan Wilson and he has yet to stall in his progress. Following his draft year; he was won championships, dominated junior and won awards. Turning pro he has had no problem exalting his offensive play on the league, whether in the regular season or playoffs. Now the question remains if he can round out his game at this level to become a top end player on the backend. “We are big fans of Theodore’s game. He’s a smart kid who reads the game well and uses his instincts to control the game offensively. He’s already producing amazingly at our AHL level, almost a point per game in the playoffs and he got an opportunity on the pro team this year as well. One thing we hope to see from him going forward is to use his size more and be more confident with the physical play. He will get an opportunity to make the Panthers out of camp next year, competing for one of the bottom pairing roles.”

3. Joshua Morrissey, D, 22, [Calgary, Alberta]

6’0, 194lbs

Acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens

Like Sprong and Fleury, the Panthers had to give to get. With Tyler Toffoli about to cash in on an RFA deal, GM Wilson moved to trade him and could bring in Josh Morrissey in return. The smooth and responsible Morrissey has made waves in his first full year at the NHL level. While his offensive game hasn’t taken quite the leap that it had in junior, he has held his own and has done a great job eating up minutes, suppressing shots and moving the puck well. If this is the peak then it’s still a good defender, but Dylan sees a lot more potential for bigger things going forward. “Over the last couple of years we’ve dealt some exceptionally talented players, but I think Morrissey is another piece we’ve added that helps re-load us for hopefully another championship run. The player we see right now is solid and will already be a huge complement to our already solid defense core. We think Josh can make strides going forward the next couple of years to potentially being a top end defenceman. He has all the tools, so it’s just a matter of getting more comfortable and taking advantage of that. He will be in competition for our defense next season.”

2. Jakob Chychrun, D, 19, [Boca Raton, Florida]

6’3, 201lbs

Drafted by the Panthers in the 1st round (9th Overall) in 2016

A consolation to an absolute travesty of a year was the ability to pick in the top 10, and select Jakob Chychrun last year at the draft. Similar to Morrissey, Jakob has transitioned well to the pro game, playing a smart and safe game in his rookie year. Jumping in to the NHL at the age of 18 as a defenceman is no easy feat and while sheltered at times he proved capable despite slowing down over the long season. There’s no question that with Theodore and Morrissey, they will be competing for spots next year but going forward hopefully making up half of the core for the long term on the backend. “We had a hard target of Jakob when we were locked in to the 9^th pick. He’s an extremely talented guy and mature, which he has proven extensively over this past season. He doesn’t have a guaranteed spot with the team next year, but he will turn pro and will more than likely get a fair shot at the top level. Once he’s there, we don’t expect him to relinquish that position.”

1. Dylan Strome, C, 20, [Mississauga, Ontario]

6’3, 198lbs

Acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins

In just a disappointing way the rules are formed, already proving way too talented for the OHL, Dylan Strome had to return to the junior league when he didn’t manage to stick with the Yotes this year. While some might lack the motivation after they’ve already done all they could at a spot, Strome went out of his way to somehow improve upon his already fantastic numbers. He put up an astounding 75 points in 35 games, a fantastic performance as captain of Canada at the World Juniors and an 8-point route in a Memorial Cup game where he was named MVP of the tournament. While it might be disappointing for a top 3 pick to not be already contributing at the NHL level two years’ post draft, GM Wilson has no cause for concern. “We’ve basically spent half this list naming guys we got by trading away top level guys. None top Evgeni Malkin, so it makes sense the piece we got back for him is at the top of this list. He is an exceptionally talented player that we envision being a part of this second core that’s upfront that we hope will be our future in Strome, Draisaitl and Wennberg. He won’t turn pro next season, but we fully expect that he’ll be a big part of our pro team the following season and we can’t wait. 

Clayton Hansler

Great Job Dylan!!

Florida Panthers Prospect Report 2017
A look at the top prospects out of the sunshine state

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