Florida Panthers Mid-Season Prospect Recap

The Panthers have been balancing on the playoff bubble all season in their defence of last years title. While the pro team might be in slight disarray, there appears to be some help on the way. We take a dive in to each position in the organization to see how they currently fair and what the future looks like.

Goalies:

# of Prospects: 5 

Top Prospect: Cayden Primeau 

The most difficult position to judge in all of hockey is definitely the netminder. The Panthers after a string of trading for goalies are hoping to find a solution within the organization. David Rittich and Cal Petersen the ones at the top level right now were brought in through free agency, but there’s a couple of names that do spark some interest at the junior level that could potentially be starters in the MRFHL. 

Veini Vehvailainen who was drafted all the way back in 2015 has finally crossed the pond after being named the best goalie in the SM-Liiga the last two seasons. He has had some trouble adjusting in the AHL, but overall the numbers are reassuring though the last month has been his most trying. Cayden Primeau after some world beating seasons in the NCAA has also started his pro career this season and while his time with Laval has been rocky, it’s been solid enough to earn him a few starts in the NHL where he looked solid and confident, earning his first career win stopping 35 of 37 shots. 

Defence:

# of Prospects: 11

Top Prospect: Calen Addison 

A position of transition for the Panthers as some players continue to age or have been moved out at the pro level, it’s time for the next generation to take that next step. Jakob Chychrun and Shea Theodore are already at the top level and the Panthers have loaded up in the last few drafts, taking high skilled defenceman in hopes to keep up with the game continually getting faster. 

The recently traded in the NHL, Calen Addison tops this list with another season of impressive play in the WHL and was really put on the map quarterbacking the Gold Medal winning Canada at the World Juniors where he had the most assists amongst defenceman in the tournament. The 20 year old Timothy Liljegren has received his shot at the top level, albeit in sheltered minutes, but in his short time has looked incredibly confident in his play while keeping it simple. David Farrance continues to put impressive offensive numbers at the NCAA level, but the maturation of his game is apparent in his ability to be quick and confident with and without the puck.The same can be said for another NCAA product in Zac Jones who was on fire to start the year, before slowing down after returning from the world juniors. 

Left Wing:

# of Prospects: 8

Top Prospect: Lucas Elvenes 

There is definitely a direct line forward on the left side for future Panthers as there are a lot of question marks for the future on that wing. Jaden Schwartz currently mans the top line but his immediate future in Florida is in question. Robby Fabbri and Valeri Nichushkin are both 24 and have had resurgences at the NHL level this year, but neither are top line calibre players at the moment. While the team hasn’t spent a 1st round pick on a left winger in quite some time, there are a couple of intriguing names in the ranks. 

Lucas Elvenes immediately pops out as the top on this list; acquired from the Calgary Flames (with no scouts, how could they be aware of his talent) in a trade a year ago in the MRFHL. Lucas has adjusted nicely to North America, currently sitting 4th in points amongst rookies in the AHL. He’s an incredible playmaker who has been driving that line in Chicago on one of the worst scoring teams in the AHL this year. While Lucas has been performing on a dwindling AHL team, Samuel Fagemo has been on a torrid run of success. After leading the World Juniors in both goals and points, he’s back home to Sweden where he was 3rd in scoring on the Champions Hockey League winning Frolunda HC. Vladislav Kamenev who has oozed potential from day one, but has been unable to stay healthy throughout his career and find a foothold at the top level. He’s a game away from playing 25 this season, which would match a high for him over his last three years, NHL and AHL combined, so that really tells you where he’s at. The Panthers brass are still big believers in Kamenev but the clock is surely ticking on him. Cole Fonstad was shockingly traded early on this season after reaching the Memorial Cup last year, but the winger continues to show off his impressive playmaking skills as he looks to top the previous highs he’s set in the WHL the last few years. 

Right Wing:

# of Prospects: 8

Top Prospect: Troy Terry

The right wing of the Panthers is a spot loaded with a bunch of good players, but maybe only one truly top 6. Jonathan Marchessault currently mans the top line, but has been rumoured about in trade talks. The team has hit on multiple picks in guys like; Danton Heinen, Jesper Bratt and Brock McGinn who have all proven to be quality NHLers but not necessarily offensive threats. In recent years the Panthers have also traded for highly skilled wingers with some question marks in Jesse Puljujarvi and Daniel Sprong. Puljujarvi has seemed to have found his confidence playing home in Finland, the question remains if he can keep that rolling once back in North America. Sprong on the other hand has just been consistently unable to find his footing in the NHL despite putting up numbers in the AHL. 

Troy Terry has seen a meteoric rise over the last few years before being suddenly halted this past year. He dominated in the NCAA, won Gold in the World Juniors, played and was impressive with Team USA at the 2018 Olympics, and was a point per game player in his first year in the AHL. Unfortunately the stats haven’t come at the NHL level, but there’s little to be concerned about in the eyes of the Panthers brass. He’s been a positive possession player for the Ducks and has been shooting an incredibly low 6.1% this season (compared to his unreasonably high 18% in the AHL). His minutes have been rising and so has his play, it’s only a matter of time before the dam breaks. Speaking of dams breaking, Dominik Bokk has been on a tear since returning from the WJHC. The snakebitten Bokk who left for the tournament with only 1 goal in 23 games in the SHL, has been a focal point of the Rogle offence with 8 goals in 10 games since returning. Glenn Gawdin who exploded in his overage year in the WHL, has at least proven to this point to be a capable scorer at the AHL level, currently sitting top 20 in AHL scoring. The recently re-signed and long necked Pierre Engvall has proven to be a bit of a swiss army knife at the NHL level, proving to be able to play centre or the wing, and provide speedo on the penalty kill. The 6’5 winger seemed to be destined to be a bit of a fringe NHLer at best, but he exploded offensively to start the year in the AHL and has not looked out of place at the top level. 

Centre:

# of Prospects: 9

Top Prospect: Connor McMichael

When you have one of the best players of All-Time, you’re usually doing pretty well at the position. Sidney Crosby continues to be one of the better players in the league even as he ages and there’s been no intention that the Panthers intend to move their captain despite being out of a playoff spot. Nazem Kadri who was picked up in the Ovechkin trade this summer (more on that later), has had a resurgence with the Avalanche this year before being injured. Dylan Strome has been streaky this year after breaking out last year with the Blackhawks. The Panthers also have a handful of centres who might not be stars but are regular NHLers in Carter Verhaeghe, Lucas Wallmark, and Sam Lafferty. 

The depth is there at the pro levels but there’s not a ton of depth at centre in the prospect lists, but the position may have the two best prospects in the organization. The teams 1st round pick in 2019, Connor McMichael, who has been one of the more dominant players in junior this season. He won a gold medal with Canada and has been average over 2 points per game in the OHL, raising the question of if he should make the jump to the Capitals next season. Phillip Tomasino who was also acquired in the Ovechkin trade has been just as good as McMichael since being traded to the Oshawa Generals, averaging 2.20 PPG and sitting just ahead of McMichael in the overall scoring race. With 2 of the top 4 scorers in the OHL, it’s been a point of excitement for the Panthers brass. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev has also been having an impressive bounceback in the OHL, showing off some elite playmaking abilities. The Russian is currently sitting 3rd in assists this season forming an unbreakable bond with fellow Leafs prospect Nick Robertson. Dylan Gambrell has had difficulty making an impact for the lowly San Jose Sharks, but continues to produce when set to the AHL.