The Cats head to the Big D tonight to take on the Dallas Stars. Florida took their first two preseason games in last week’s double-header against the Predators.
It will be a different looking roster for the Panthers tonight as they head to the Lone Star state with a squad that’s full of youth and Chris Gibson starting in the blue paint.
Like Jameson said, it will be a nice opportunity for these guys to show what they can do and strengthen their cases to stay/move up in the depth chart.
Some interesting info about the roster shaping up from George Richards at
Florida Hockey Now:
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On defense, it appears the rookie Matt Kiersted and veteran Kevin Connauton have taken the lead in the battle for at least one of those spots.
Tuesday, Florida had what appears to be its top-6 on the ice (check below) with Kiersted and Connauton working as the fourth pairing.
Noah Juulsen, Lucas Carlsson, Chase Priskie and Max Gildon — who are thought to be in the mix for the final spots — were with the second group in Coral Springs.
At forward, Florida was still missing veteran Joe Thornton and rookie Anton Lundell with Eetu Luostarinen centering the third line.
Ryan Lomberg, Juho Lammikko and Maxim Mamin (who left early) were on the fifth forward line.
Grigori Denisenko, Zac Dalpe, Aleksi Heponiemi, Logan Hutsko and Serron Noel were among those in Coral Springs.
According to Quenneville a good chunk of the players who were working in Coral Springs on Tuesday will make up Florida’s travel team Wednesday in Dallas.
”You can read into it anyway you want but it’s an opportunity for everyone,” Quenneville said. “A lot of the guys who (weren’t at the arena) today are going to play in the game tomorrow and can position themselves to make an impact on our staff. It’s an opportunity for these guys to get some consideration as we go along.
”We have some injuries here, have some guys missing. We still have guys who can make the decisions tough on us as we go along here.””
He also includes an update on Lundell:
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Lundell, Quenneville said, has been skating the past few days and is ‘getting closer and closer to joining us for practice.’”
I’m actually really pumped to hear Connauton is showing something and making a push for a roster spot. This is a guy I wanted to see in more last season. He plays more of a simple game and has a heavy shot.
I liked Carlsson in Chicago and I’m curious to see Priskie and Gildon in action tonight to see what they have. Still a bummer on Ludvig getting injured.
Eco-Friendly Sweaters
The league recently announced that all 32 teams will be utilizing the new ADIZERO Primegreen Authentic NHL jerseys made from 50% recycled materials.
I think this is a great idea, and, actually, these jerseys look super light weight and comfortable.
Top 50 Players Right Now: #15
Enjoy.
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