With Aaron Ekblad still out with injury, Panthers giving a young defenseman his chance
Tobias Bjornfot knew he probably wouldn’t get much ice time last season after the Florida Panthers claimed him off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights at the trade deadline last March. His pickup was more about getting a defenseman who might be able to help the team down the road, a former first-round pick still early in his career who might need a change of scenery to get things going.
But being around the team as it closed out the regular season as division champions and then went all the way to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup gave him the motivation he needed to find a spot in the lineup in his first full season with the club.
“I didn’t play much last year, and you want to be able to play hockey,” Bjornot said during training camp, “so it was good to be around to get that hunger for this season.”
While he started this season with the Charlotte Checkers, the Panthers’ American Hockey League affiliate, Bjornfot’s time to show the Panthers what he can do, even if brief, has arrived.
Bjornfot, a former first-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in 2019 who played in 119 games through five seasons before being picked up by the Panthers, has played in two of Florida’s past three games with Aaron Ekblad sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Ekblad did not travel with the team and therefore will be out for both games of the Panthers’ back-to-back road games against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
Bjornfot has been paired with Uvis Balinskis in each of the two games he has played so far during this run. He was on the ice for 15:29 in Florida’s 3-1 road loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 6 and 11:54 in the Panthers’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
“I liked his last two games,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He very predictable on the ice. He has a very good mind for the game. He can pick up the reads quick, which makes him play faster. I thought he was really solid. Did some good things with the puck. It’s not really overlooked where our expectation is — they won’t drive offense, but he did on some real nice, clean breakouts. He’s mature in this game.”
As for Ekblad, it’s unclear exactly what his injury is although he did take a puck to the hand/wrist area in the first period of Florida’s shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 3. Ekblad continued to play in that game until about the final six minutes of the third period. He then sat out the Colorado game, returned to play just over 24 minutes on Wednesday against Utah and sat out again on Saturday.
Now, he’s out for at least two more games.
“He played the other night,’’ Maurice said Saturday, adding that he did not believe the injury was “sinister” or something long-term. “I thought he played very well with it. The question is, how many times do we want to do that?”
Forward Jonah Gadjovich, who hasn’t played since Dec. 20 while dealing with an upper-body injury, also did not make the two-game trip. He and Ekblad will skate in South Florida with skills coach Max Ivanov and be re-evaluated when the team returns.
Players on Winter Classic
The news last week that the Panthers will be playing the 2026 Winter Classic next year at loanDepot park, home of the Miami Marlins, was well-received in the dressing room.
The game is scheduled for Jan. 2 against the New York Rangers as part of what the league is billing as a month-long celebration of hockey in Florida. The Tampa Bay Lightning are hosting a Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Feb. 1 against the Boston Bruins.
“It’s going to be fun, for sure,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “It’s not the most typical place to hold a Winter Classic, but why not? If they can make it happen, it’s going to be amazing. At our home, too, and playing against the Rangers. … There’s a lot of good things happening here in South Florida for hockey. It’s amazing. The hockey community is growing. All the good things happening to the franchise right now, it’s great to be a Panther.”
“I’ve never played an outdoor game, only practiced and skated outdoors,” Barkov added. “It’s a little different with the Florida weather. It’ll be exciting.”
Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, one of several players on the roster who has played in an NHL outdoor game, said it’s “ an opportunity everybody should get at some part of their career.”
“A lot of guys in state of Florida that probably haven’t had that opportunity,” Reinhart added, “so it’s pretty neat we’re going to be able to get one down here.”
Added forward Carter Verhaeghe: “When you’re growing up as a kid, you’re playing outdoors a lot and on ponds and stuff like that. To bring that to an NHL game, it’s really going to be special.”
Milestones
▪ With two goals against Boston on Saturday, Reinhart is up to 25 on the season. It’s his fifth consecutive season with at least 25 goals.
▪ Barkov is two points away from 750 for his NHL career.
▪ Jesper Boqvist is one goal away from tying his single-season career high of 10, done twice (2021-22 and 2022-23, both with the Devils).
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