Cats & Coffee: Panthers Prepare for NHL Draft & Free Agency

Good morning and welcome to "Cats & Coffee," a weekly segment, presented by Koffee Kult, in which we serve up an exciting look at what's on deck for your Florida Panthers. Like our friends at Koffee Kult, this forecast serves up only the best -- so sit back, sip and enjoy our latest brew of news, notes and information.
This will be an incredibly important week for the Florida Panthers.
In the first big event under new general manager Bill Zito, the Panthers will look to add a wealth of new prospects to their pipeline when the 2020 NHL Draft kicks off with Round 1 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. After that, Round 2-7 will then be held on Wednesday beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET.

By wrapping up the 2019-20 regular season with a record of 35-26-8, the Panthers will enter the draft with the 12th overall pick in the first round. Overall, the organization holds eight picks in this year's draft, including a pair of valuable selections in both the third and fourth rounds on Day 2.
Last year, the Panthers scooped up top-ranked goaltender Spencer Knight with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 draft. During his freshman season at Boston College in 2019-20, the 19-year-old went 23-8-2 with a 1.97 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
Round 1 of this year's all-virtual draft will air on NBCSN and 560 WQAM in South Florida.
A full broadcast schedule for both days can be found below.
Round 1: Tuesday, Oct. 6
Television: 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Radio: 7-10 p.m. ET on 560 WQAM
Rounds 2-7: Wednesday, Oct. 7
Television: 11:30 a.m. ET on NHL Network
Radio: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET on 99.9 WKIS HD-2
What players might be available for the Panthers to select at No. 12?
Well, we here at FloridaPanthers.com recently took a look at 10 different skaters that could potentially be on the board when the Cats are on the clock in the first round, including forwards Seth Jarvis and Anton Lundell as well as defensemen Braden Schneider and Kaiden Guhle.
To read those articles and check out other draft-related content, visit
FloridaPanthers.com/DraftCentral
.
Following the draft, the Panthers will then turn their attention to updating their current roster, as the NHL's free agency period will officially open on Friday at 12 p.m. ET. Of course, both before and after this time, the roster could also be re-worked through other various trades and moves.
Keeping fans on their toes, Zito has already made a pair of trades since being hired as Florida's general manager last month. First, he acquired two-time Stanley Cup champion Patric Hornqvist from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour. Then, just last week, he continued to update the blue line when he sent defenseman Josh Brown to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a fourth-round selection in this year's draft.
What else does Zito have up his sleeves?
Stay tuned to @FlaPanthers on Twitter and FloridaPanthers.com to find out!

DRAFT SOCIAL FILTERS

Why just watch the draft when you can interact with it?
Thanks to the miracles of technology, fans can customize their posts throughout the event by using a new and exclusive "Draft Cap" Snapchat lens and a "What Round Were You Drafted In?" AR filter on Instagram. When sharing on social, fans are encouraged to use #CatsDraft.
To use the "Draft Cap" lens on Snapchat, follow PanthersNHL, head to the team's public profile page, and then simply select lenses. Then, to utilize the "What Round Were You Drafted In?" filter, visit @FlaPanthers on Instagram, select the smiley emoji under highlights and try it out.
For a good example, check out the Tweet featuring Katie Gaus below!

MYSTERY PUCKS

Who can resist the allure of the mystery puck?
In an effort to raise some offseason funds for the Florida Panthers Foundation, limited-edition "One Territory" mystery-signed pucks are currently available for purchase HERE. Autographs you could pull include Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Brian Boyle, just to name a few.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

The Hornqvist family received a special surprise during their first visit to South Florida.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

TERRITORY TALK

The Athletic's Josh Yohe joined last week's episode of the Territory Talk podcast to discuss what newly acquired forward Patric Hornqvist will add to the Panthers both on and off the ice. Also, co-hosts Doug Plagens and Jameson Olive dive into Florida's outlook for the NHL Draft.
Territory Talk: Florida Panthers Podcast
·

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

--
Peter Worrell recounts the 1995 NHL Draft in his "My Draft Day" article. 
--
The LATAM Cup is fueled by passion for hockey in Latin America.
--
JetBlue 2019-20 Season Rewind: Riley Stillman
--
Check in with Florida's 2018 NHL Draft class!
--
Getting drafted into the NHL was a right of passage for Riley Stillman.
--
Need some new gear? Check out Pantherland's virtual catalog. 
--
The Panthers are now on Twitch!
--
Take a trip down memory lane with the Panthers Virtual Vault, presented by Baptist Health.