The Florida Panthers were back on the ice in Fort Lauderdale this week.
A group of the team’s best and brightest prospects gathered in South Florida ahead of the 2025 Prospect Showcase taking place in Wesley Chapel, just outside of Tampa.
It runs from Friday to Monday, with the Panthers facing prospects from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes in a round-robin.
Florida’s roster consists of 25 players, broken down to 15 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders.
Coaching the Panthers prospects once again this year is Florida’s AHL head coach, Geordie Kinnear.
“The Rookie Tournament is a great opportunity for these guys to keep getting evaluated, but also an opportunity to get better, to get a little taste of playing competitive hockey against your peers,” Kinnear said.
On Thursday, the Panthers’ prospects gathered at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale for some practice and meetings before heading north to the Tampa area.
You can check out footage from Thursday’s practice in the video below:
Forward Gracyn Sawchyn, who Florida selected in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is gearing up for his first professional season after signing his entry level contract earlier this year.
“I’m a lot closer to the guys now, so it’s good to be around everybody again,” said Sawchyn.
He’s playing in his third, and ultimately last, prospect tournament.
“Every year has been a little bit different,” he said. “I think the biggest thing for me is just trying to play a mature game. Do that this weekend, and hopefully carry that on to training camp with the big guys.”
Florida’s three-game schedule kicks off on Friday afternoon against the prospects from Carolina.
Here is the Panthers schedule:
Friday, Sept. 12 at 2:00 p.m. vs. Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 13 at 5:00 p.m. vs. Tampa Bay
Monday, Sept. 15 at 12:00 p.m. vs. Nashville
All games are open to the public and free to attend, and the Panthers previously said all games would be streamed online as well.
Florida’s full 25-man roster can be seen below:
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