How the Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett is turning goal scoring into a good cause
On the ice, Florida Panthers center is known for his grit, tenacity and physicality. He’s a tone-setter for the defending Stanley Cup champions, a player who coach Paul Maurice once singled out as “an identity player in our room.”
Off the ice, he has a heart of gold.
And this season, he is combining the two for a good cause.
At the start of the season, Bennett announced a partnership with the Humane Society of Broward County called “Benny’s Buddies.” Every time Bennett scores a goal this season, he is sponsoring the adoption a dog or cat at the humane society.
Bennett and his fiancee Zoe adopted two pets — a dog Billie and a cat Gracie — from the humane society before starting “Benny’s Buddies.”
“It’s been amazing,” Bennett said. “Just the outreach and the support from the fans and the community, they love it. The people are so invested in it. And it’s for a great cause. A bunch of animals are getting adopted.”
Bennett’s hot start to the season has helped the cause get off to a strong start. The Panthers’ second-line center enters Florida’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday with nine goals through 21 games.
“That’s exactly how I hoped it would go,” Bennett said, “and just hopefully we can keep getting more and more pets adopted.”
Bennett said he has been to the humane society about four or five times since the start of the season and added that the humane society generally picks which animals whose adoption fees will be paid for.
“They usually pick either dogs or cats that have been there the longest or that they know that they’re good animals and just need need a home,” Bennett said. “They know better than I do.”
And Bennett knows that his goal is to get as many animals as he can sponsored.
To do that, he needs to continue excelling on the ice.
Bennett, who is in the final year of a four-year contract with the Panthers, is on his way to doing that. He is on pace for 35 goals this season, which would surpass his single-season career high of 28 set in the 2021-22 season.
“It’s been great,” Bennett said. “I just started the year feeling good from last year. My linemates have been playing great and feeding me a bunch. It’s always great when the puck’s going in for you so yeah hopefully I can keep that up.”
Teddy Richards
Another member of the Panthers organization will take part in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off in
USA Hockey announced Tuesday that Panthers head equipment manager Teddy Richards will serve as equipment manager for Team USA.
Richards, 41, is in his ninth season as the Panthers’ head equipment manager. Prior to joining the Panthers, he served as assistant equipment manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2013-14 to 2015-16 and served on the equipment staff for Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, from 2002-03 to 2012-13.
Richards is the third member of the Panthers on Team USA, joining president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito, who is serving as Team USA’s assistant general manager, and star winger Matthew Tkachuk.
Captain Aleksander Barkov (Finland) and defenseman Gustav Forsling (Sweden) have also already been named to the teams for their respective nations.
Full rosters for the tournament, which will take place from Feb. 12-20, will be announced on Dec. 4.
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