Panthers forward Rodrigues throws out 1st pitch at Marlins game

MIAMI -- Evan Rodrigues said he had not thrown a baseball since last summer, yet he was charged with a pretty important task on Friday night.

Before the Miami Marlins took on the Philadelphia Phillies, the Florida Panthers forward threw out one of the ceremonial first pitches at LoanDepot Park.

It was a strike. Depending, of course, on who called it.

"A little high," Rodrigues said with a grin. "And wide."

Friday was the annual Panthers Night at the ballpark, and Rodrigues was honored with throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

It was the first Panthers Night with the Marlins since the team won the Stanley Cup in June, and fans were excited to get a glimpse of one of their heroes.

The Marlins offered special hockey jerseys to select ticket holders, and team mascots Stanley C. Panther and Viktor E. Ratt joined Billy the Marlin on the field before the game.

The Panthers mascots wore Marlins jerseys; the Marlins mascot returned the favor in a custom Panthers sweater.

For Rodrigues, one of the first questions he asked while hanging out behind home plate with his family was how Sam Reinhart looked throwing out last year’s first pitch.

Reinhart had played a little youth baseball growing up in West Vancouver and fired in a strike.

Rodrigues warmed up a bit with his father, Norbert, “just to get a feel for it."

Regardless of how the first pitch went, Rodrigues joked with his two young sons that it would not affect his standing with the Panthers.

Not after the playoff run he had.

Rodrigues, who signed a four-year contract with the Panthers last July, scored three goals in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, helping Florida take a 2-0 series lead.

In Florida’s 2-1 win in Game 7 on June 24, he got the primary assist on Carter Verhaeghe’s goal that gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead 4:27 into the game.

"It’s great to be back," said Rodrigues, who took sons Grayson and Noah out to the pitcher’s mound with him while his wife, Christina, watched with young daughter Grace in her arms.

“I obviously have a lot of great memories from that time and now; this will be a cool experience. This is something I never thought I would do. You see guys throw out the first pitch at a game, but you never think it will be you. Such a fun time."

Rodrigues had played for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Colorado Avalanche before settling in nicely with the Panthers.

He and his family took the Stanley Cup to the Boston area, where they celebrated at Boston University and Norbert Rodrigues' home in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

"It was such an honor to have the Stanley Cup in our home,” Norbert Rodrigues said. “So many great players, and we got to see all their names on the Cup. It was outstanding, I could not ask for more. Such an honor for Evan and the family."

Rodrigues' day with the Stanley Cup became a sensation when his two sons showed up dressed up as mini "Keepers of the Cup" complete with white gloves for handling the trophy.

"The memories that it made for them was the coolest part of the day," Rodrigues said. "This is something we will remember as a family forever. A lot of fun, a really good day."

Evan Rodrigues and his family have settled back in South Florida with the start of training camp approaching later this month. And though the Panthers have had the shortest offseason in their history, they seem ready to get going again.

Florida coach Paul Maurice is known for his tough start to training camp, but Rodrigues said they would be ready for it.

Hey, it worked before.

"We are all ready to turn the page, get after it once again," Rodrigues said. "We all have the same goal in mind; we all know what it takes. Now we have to have the drive to do it again -- and I think everyone in that locker room has that. We want that feeling again. I know 'Mo' is going to push us to get there."