It's been an offseason of change for the Florida Panthers.
After being hired as general manager back in September, Bill Zito wasted no time in overhauling the organization's front office and roster through a series of incredibly shrewd moves that have set up the franchise to be successful during both the 2020-21 season and in the years to come.
Cats in a Candy Store: Panthers Set to Open Camp on Sunday
These vast changes were evident on Saturday morning when the Panthers released their 39-man training camp roster featuring 21 forwards, 13 defensemen and five goaltenders. Of those players, just 14 laced up their skates in a game with Florida last season at one point or another.
In terms of additions, Radko Gudas, Alex Wennberg, Anthony Duclair, Vinnie Hinostroza, Carter Verhaeghe and Ryan Lomberg were all on brought in on very savvy short-term, one-way deals during free agency, while Patric Hornqvist and Markus Nutivaara were acquired through trades.
Hoping to crack the roster as rookies, some of the organization's top prospects will also be in camp, including forwards Owen Tippett, Grigori Denisenko, Serron Noel, Eetu Luostarinen and Aleksi Heponiemi, and defensemen Max Gildon, John Ludvig, Chase Priskie and Brady Keeper.
The roster also boasts two tryouts: goaltender Scott Darling and defenseman Kevin Connauton.
Of course, as of right now, all these players are just names jotted down on a piece of paper. But come Sunday, things will get real when all of them will be in the same place for the first time as the Panthers open their camp with medical examinations and fitness testing at BB&T Center.
For a full look at the team's 2020-21 training camp roster, click HERE.
"The reason that we all work in the sport is to be around the hockey part of it," Zito said with a smile when asked about camp's looming start. "I feel a little bit like a kid in a candy store … I think we're all just excited to be fortunate enough to be back around hockey, be back around the game, and have that air of anticipation … It's a little extra special for me, maybe, because it's my first training camp [as a general manger]. It's exciting. I'm really looking forward to it."
With no preseason games to speak of and camp set to run less than two weeks before the Panthers open their season on Jan. 14 against the Dallas Stars in Sunrise, we'll certainly have plenty of coverage at FloridaPanthers.com and @FlaPanthers on Twitter in the coming days.
In the meantime, here's five key takeaways from Zito's media availability on Saturday.
1. THE BB&T CENTER BUBBLE
In an interesting twist, the Panthers will hold their entire training camp at BB&T Center.
While the team has traditionally spent the majority of their past preseasons working out of the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Zito said the decision to move this year's camp 10 minutes down the Sawgrass Expressway to Sunrise was due to "a lot of reasons all wrapped into one."
One of the biggest reasons that BB&T Center was chosen was due to all of the extra space the arena provides the team. With a strong focus on implementing strict social distancing rules, Zito said that players are able to be spread out easily, with locker rooms housing just 3-4 at a time.
"We're distancing anybody and everybody as much as we can," said Zito, who also noted that due to this year's smaller camp roster that the arena's single sheet of ice will suffice. "We're being as prudent as we can with our pacing. We're pursuing some pretty novel concepts."
One of those concepts is taking advantage of the South Florida sunshine by moving many of the team's activities outside. In addition to creating an innovative outdoor weight room, Zito said that the team -- both players and coaches -- will hold as many of their meetings outside as possible.
"That's kind of neat," Zito said. "I think the players will enjoy that."
2. AN UNUSUAL SCHEDULE
Florida's schedule this season will have somewhat of a fun minor-league feel to it.
Now in the Central Division, the Panthers will strictly be competing against the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and the defending Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
In order to limit travel throughout the abbreviated 56-game season for both health and economic reasons, the Panthers will face each of these teams eight times, usually in two-game segments. Then, at the end of the season, the top-four teams from each division will qualify for the playoffs.
When asked about the craziness of this new-look calendar, Zito professed that he had "no issues" with the schedule, adding that it reminds him a bit of his college hockey days at Yale.
"The eight games are going to be interesting," said Zito, who suited up for the Bulldogs from 1984-87. "I do think it's going to create rivalries. I do think it's going to create a heightened competition in certain instances. As far as multiple games overall, we did it in college."
To view the full schedule, click HERE.
3. HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE
The Panthers will be one of a handful of teams to start the season with genuine crowd noise.
As the NHL's first team to achieve the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)'s WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management, the Panthers recently announced that they will welcome fans in a limited capacity to BB&T Center to begin the 2020-21 campaign.
To combat COVID-19, the arena has been meticulously updated to be as safe as possible.
"I think it'll have a really positive affect on our players," Zito said. "One of the things that they've told me when I've interacted with them is how passionate the fans here really are and how they do appreciate the fans. I think, at least for our group, it will make a difference. It will help them."
Interested in attending a game? Stay tuned to FloridaPanthrers.com for more information.
4. BUILDING A LINEUP
With puck drop coming up in less than two weeks, there's still plenty of jobs to be won.
Given the abundance of new faces and the lack of a preseason, the Panthers will only have a handful of practices to figure out not only their 23-man roster, but also their extended taxi squad.
"There's certainly going to be a modification to the way a traditional training camp has been held," Zito said. "Both the physical and mental preparation of the players has to be altered a little bit as well as [our team's] chance to examine the respective depth that each team might have."
As for internal battles between players, Zito expects the competition to be better than ever.
In order to keep recallable players nearby in case a team needs to be replenished, every NHL club will carry a taxi squad of between four and six players throughout this season. This group will practice and participate in team activities, but won't be considered part of the active roster.
Although loans to the taxi squad will be subject to waiver requirements, players on entry-level deals will be able to move freely between the two groups. That means that players on the 23-man roster will technically be competing for a spot against a larger pool of players than normal.
"Because of the taxi squad, you can have more players readily available on a day-to-day basis up and down," Zito said. "If you're not the guys who's necessarily pulling his own weight or if the coach wanted to replace you in the lineup, you could sit out without being taken off the [roster]. You could call someone up from the taxi squad to replace you very readily. I think the best players playing, it creates a far more competitive roster."
5. ROOKIE WATCH
Of all the rookies at camp, Denisenko and Tippett will likely draw the most attention.
With both Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman signing elsewhere as free agents this offseason, these two young forwards will both have a chance to fill the goal-scoring void they left behind.
"I'm really excited about those two," Zito said. "They've been here working [in South Florida]. Our strength coach Mike Donoghue speaks very highly of both their work ethics. The guys all like them. I'm very excited about both of those guys."
Taken with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Tippett, 21, led Florida's AHL affiliate in scoring last season with a career-high 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 46 games before suffering an injury. After healing up, however, he did attend Florida's "Return to Play" camp.
"Tippett can shoot the puck and he can score goals," Zito said.
The 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Denisenko, 20, spent the past two seasons competing against grown men in Russia's KHL - arguably hockey's second-most difficult league behind the NHL. Seeing limited minutes, he tallied 12 points (six goals, six assist) in 38 games in 2019-20.
In two trips to the IIHF World Junior Championship, he notched seven goals and 11 assists.
"Denisenko is more of an all-around player with his skating, his sense and his skill," Zito said.
We'll certainly be keeping an eye on both rookies throughout camp.
