Panthers wrap up training camp in Florida. Next up: Two months in Canada (they hope)
For months, the Florida Panthers longed to just skate on the ice inside the Florida Panthers IceDen. The COVID-19 pandemic robbed them all of hockey for nearly three months before they were finally able to return to their Coral Springs practice facility last month for small group workouts and eventually — starting July 13 — an actual postseason training camp.
Now, they’re excited to be leaving it behind. A real hockey game is just one week — and one bizarre trip to Canada — away.
“Uh, I haven’t packed yet,” center Aleksander Barkov said sheepishly. “For me, I pack last minute, but obviously I know we’re going to be there for a while.”
The Panthers hope it’ll be more than two months. On Sunday, Florida will depart for Toronto, ready to spend anywhere from two weeks to two months up in Canada for the NHL’s expanded postseason. The Panthers will open up the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup playoffs next Saturday against the New York Islanders. If they get all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, they could be playing into October.
“I’m excited to start playing games now and get to Toronto, so it’s going to be fun to go [Sunday],” center Lucas Wallmark said. “Actually I’m going to start packing [Saturday], but, to be honest, I don’t exactly what I’m packing. We’ll figure it out [Saturday].”
The training camp has been a somewhat strange affair, but Florida believes it has prepared the team well as it gets to ready to live in a “bubble” for the coming weeks or months. They’ve all gotten in the routine of going to the IceDen to practice and then return home with very few diversions elsewhere to limit exposure to the coronavirus. They’ve been tested for the virus every other day, and they’ve been adhering to NHL regulations, like mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing.
All throughout camp, coach Joel Quenneville has seemed please with his team’s play, too. In the last week, players have repeatedly said they’re ready to travel and play in real games after itching for competition for more than four months.
“It’s great. It’s been a good couple of weeks here. Nice to see all the boys and all the staff again,” defenseman Anton Stralman said. “I’m ready for the next step going to Toronto and get adjusted to all that, and hopefully win some games.”
Sunday is the travel day for most teams, as 12 Eastern Conference teams head to one hub city in Toronto and 12 Western Conference teams head to another hub city in Edmonton. Teams are required to have one off day in the first four days, so Quenneville said he expects the Panthers to take Tuesday off ahead of their Wednesday scrimmage against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena. Florida will then practice again Thursday and Friday to get ready for the Islanders.
So far, New York hasn’t been a big focus point for the Panthers in practice. The first week of camp was mostly just about getting back on the ice as a group after being away from one another since March. By the end of the first week and into the second week, they were fully back to practicing normally, honing in on their techniques and philosophies. The Islanders were always secondary to focusing on themselves.
Quenneville said they have started to sprinkle in some talk about New York, though, and the Islanders will obviously become a larger focus for Florida once it begins practicing in Toronto.
“It’s going to be a fun week now that you can finally see the opponent,” Quenneville said. “Hockey’s back, so it’s going to be great right off the bat when we land.”
This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
