Florida Panthers: Top Prospects 15-11

15. Jussi Rynnas, G, 23, Pori, Finland

6’5, 205lbs

Drafted 5^th round (141^st overall) in 2010

 The 6’5, 23 year old was the second goalie taken by the Panthers in this past draft, and unlike Wedgewood, Jussi is much father in his development. Another late bloomer from Europe Jussi start to his pro career in North America has had its up and downs. His training camp with the Leafs was below average, and his first month in the AHL was mediocre at best. Though in November he absolutely tore it up, with a 5-2-2 record, with an astounding 1.33 GAA and a .957 SV%, making his name known in the AHL.  Though combined with October and December he is 6-9-2, though still holds a solid .922 SV% and a 2.47 GAA and you can only expect him to continue getting better as he adjusts to the North American game.

“Obviously Rynnas is further along than most of our prospects and has yet to see NHL action but he definitely still holds a lot of potential. He is huge in the net and has great mobility in the net and it doesn’t take long for him to cover the net when facing a shot. We feel he can battle next year for our minor league team as the starter and we seem him being very close to playing for the pro team.”

14. Jhonas Enroth, G, 22, Stockholm, Sweden

5’10, 166lbs

Acquired in trade with Buffalo

 Unlike Rynnas, Enroth has had his name in hockey circles for a while now. He is former 2^nd rounder in 2006 and at the time considered the best goalie prospect to come out of Sweden since Lundqvist. After some impressive seasons in Sweden and a solid performance at the WJC, he is now into his 3^rd year in North America and still sitting in minors. After two continually improving years in Portland his 3^rd season has been less impressive, with a record of 8-8-1 and his GAA and SV% worse than his previous years. Though in a small stint with Buffalo, he stringed together some great starts and showed why he was so highly touted.

“Jhonas is not the biggest goalie in the system, but probably the best technical goalie we have and really works hard to make each stop. He’s a guy that can give you a chance to win night in and night out, and that’s why he is the best goalie prospect in our system. We feel really good about our future at this position with guys like Wedge, Rynnas and Poulin to go along with Jhonas and even Mason on our pro team. We feel that Jhonas has the ability to be the backup next year and we hope he can prove to us he can take that role next year.”

13. Tyson Barrie, D, 19, Victoria, British Columbia

5’10, 191lbs

Drafted 3^rd round (77^th overall) in 2009

 Tyson Barrie has got an impressive resume so far since being drafted in the 3^rd round in 2009. He is the captain for the Kelowna Rockets, he was named the best defenseman in the WHL last year and he was recently named to team Canada for the upcoming world junior championship. The small defensemen (son of former NHL’er and Tampa Bay Lightning Owner, Len Barrie) took storm of the WHL last year, in which he took over the Rockets defense after losing Tyler Myers to the pros, Tyson ended the season with a powerful 72 points in 63 games from the backend. This year with the Captains role, he has overcome an injury and has continued the success from last year with 25 points in 21 games.

“We were really excited to have the opportunity to take Tyson at the draft in ’09 and he has not let us down. Kelowna has produced some great talent on defense over the last while and I think Tyson is another shining example of that. We really can’t wait to see what he can do at the international level in the next few weeks but we are sure he will shine and continue to show others what he is capable of. We hope to see him in the AHL level next year but we wouldn’t be shocked to see him even push further than that next year but as it remains now we can take our time with him as he is definitely a worthy investment.”

12. Brock Nelson, C, 19, Minneapolis, Minnesota

6’3, 205lbs

Drafted 2^nd round (32^nd overall) in 2010

  One thing that is hard for scouts to do is how to predict prospects playing in the American High School system. With 95 points in 31 games with Warroad it was hard to understand if the 6’3 centre was really that good or just much better than the competition around him. So far in his college career, the numbers haven’t been that solid with only 6 points in 20 games for North Dakota. Though even with that his play has been solid all year and with an invite to the USA WJC camp, he is trying to make a name for himself, so that he can make one of the bottom lines for them.

“We were really happy to get Nelson in the 2^nd round last year and we think at worst he will be a solid 3^rd line defensive centre, just because he is big, skates really well and has really good two-way capabilities about him. We really hope he can make the USA team and show how good he is but he is definitely a project for us. We expect him to play the next 1 or 2 years with North Dakota and make the jump to the AHL. As it stands now we think he’s 2-3 years away as he is still very raw but we think we got a very good player on our hands here.”

11. Jeremy Morin, LW, 19, Auburn, New York

6’1, 189lbs

Drafted 2^nd round (40^th overall) in 2009

 Jeremy Morin seemed to have 1^st round talent written all over him in his draft year, though skating was a big issue that plagued him to fall to the Panthers in the 2^nd round and they couldn’t be more happy to take him. Morin, even after playing the previous years for the USNTDP decided to take his talents to the OHL after the draft with the Kitchener Rangers where his goal scoring abilities were front and center when he finished 4^th in goal scoring in the OHL with 47 goals. Though it seemed like another year with Kitchener was inevitable, Morin had a great camp with the Blackhawks and began the season in the AHL, where he continued to show his great play and even earned him a few call-ups with the pro team in which he put up 3 points in 9 games. Though Morin was given the opportunity this week to go play for a 2^nd time with the US at the WJC, in which he hopes to add another gold medal to his accomplishments.

“On the draft day we really wanted to get Morin, so much that we almost took him with our last first rounder, until we took the risk and traded that pick for some 2^nd rounder’s and we are ever so glad to the teams that passed on him. Skating is the only thing that held him back on draft day and as we stand now all those issues are basically gone. His skating is not great but it’s much better than what the scouts had it pegged at. We think Morin is poised for a top line spot on our minor team next year but if he continues to push he will get a chance to play for our pro team next year, but he is definitely a guy we really cherish in this organization and ecstatic to have him.”