The Panthers missed the playoffs, but the season continues for their prospects
The Florida Panthers might not be in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the organization still has postseason hockey to pay attention to.
The Charlotte Checkers, the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, returns to the Calder Cup Playoffs and is looking to make a deep run that will be backed by a slew of players fresh off an extended taste of the NHL.
The Panthers plucked nearly a dozen players from the Checkers over the course of the season to play at the NHL level as injuries derailed Florida’s roster. That experience should bode well for Charlotte in the short-term and for the organization as a whole in the long-term.
“They came up with the right mind-set, the right style of hockey,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “They play hard. They play fast. They compete. They don’t drift on change of possession. They don’t float, so all the technical things the coaches want are instilled. There’s no cheat in them. Those guys have done a great job.”
The Panthers had seven players make NHL debuts this season, and they used 11 players total who played extensively at Charlotte.
Despite the Panthers poaching the Checkers’ roster, Charlotte still finished third in the Atlantic Division, going 44-23-5. They open the playoffs Wednesday with a best-of-3 series against the Springfield Thunderbirds, the St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate.
“They kept winning,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said.
That’s nothing new. Charlotte made the Calder Cup Finals last year, where they lost to the Abbotsford Canucks in six games to fall short of a championship.
And several key players in Florida’s minor-league pipeline got a much-awaited taste of the NHL this year.
Forward Sandis Vilmanis and defenseman Mike Benning got the longest run of the bunch. Each played in 19 games — Vilmanis doing so during the middle of the season when Florida was still in the playoff hunt, Benning to close out the season as essentially the Panthers’ blue line was decimated with injuries down the stretch.
Each proved his worth.
Vilmanis, who also played in the Olympics for Latvia in February, logged five points (three goals, two assists) while playing anywhere from the second to fourth forward lines with the Panthers. He also produced 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) in 48 games with Charlotte.
“I think it definitely helped me,” Vilmanis said after returning from the Olympics. “I feel a lot more confident. And of course these last months, spending time with the NHL players here in the locker room, yeah, it’s just been a really good learning period for me, too.”
Benning, whose dad Brian Benning was an original Panther, had six points (two goals, four assists) in his 19 games and was promoted to top-pair minutes and power-play duties as he became one of the more seasoned players on Florida’s roster by season’s end. He averaged nearly 17 minutes of ice time per game while with the Panthers.
He capped his time with the Panthers by scoring two goals in Florida’s regular-season finale, an 8-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
“It was the cherry on top,’’ said Benning, who logged eight goals and 31 points in 57 games for the Checkers. “Every game is a new learning experience for me, whether it’s from the coaches or the veteran players on the team. Even just watching them, you can take a piece from their game.’’
Forwards Jack Devine and Wilmer Skoog as well as defensemen Marek Alscher, Ludvig Jansson and Mikulas Hovorka were the other five to make their NHL debuts this season. They played a combined 21 games for the Panthers. With the Checkers, those five have combined for 47 goals and 120 points.
Forwards Noah Gregor, Jack Studnicka and Nolan Foote plus defenseman Tobias Bjornfot round out the AHL regulars who saw plenty of time with the Panthers this season.
Getting the hands-on experience at the NHL level was a benefit for the players.
It was also a benefit for the Panthers coaches, who normally only get hands-on experience with the organization’s prospects during training camp. Maurice said the opportunity to work with them for an extended period of time during the season will benefit both him and them heading into training camp next season.
“I know our organization better right now because of the last two months than at any other point,” Maurice said. “There were players that did really, very, very impressive, at least in their development. They still got a ways to go before they’re full-time. ... There’s a value to that.”
Now, those prospects are ready to go on another playoff run.
“We have battled through a long season for this,” Benning said. “I have a strong belief in our group, and I know everyone feels the same.’’
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