FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers are about to get even deeper.
After suffering an upper-body injury in a preseason game against the Nashville Predators on Sept. 22, Tomas Nosek was back on the ice in a non-contact jersey at Baptist Health IcePlex on Monday.
Although he’d been participating injury skates, this was his first practice with the main group.
Per head coach Paul Maurice, Nosek could be making his Panthers debut very soon.
“He’ll be ready to go for Finland,” said Maurice, citing the team’s two upcoming games against the Dallas Stars in Tampere for the 2024 Global Series on Nov. 1-2.
One of the many new faces in the locker room this year, Nosek signed with the Panthers as a free agent on July 1.
Able to be with the guys again after missing the majority of training camp and the start of the season, it’s good that he’s getting back in the mix again on and off the ice.
“There's a little bit of flux in the room and how to get to know everybody when there's a bunch of new faces,” said Maurice. “It's good to get him back on the ice. He gets back up to speed. We get to run a bunch of practices with him. He gets chirped like everybody else and more importantly, he gets to feel like he's a part of it.”
Built for the Panthers style of play, Nosek has played in 52 Stanley Cup Playoff games and averaged the third-highest shorthanded time on ice among New Jersey forwards (1:23) just a season ago.
In his career, the Czech forward has recorded 107 points (44 goals, 63 assists) in 434 games between the New Jersey Devils (2023-24), Boston Bruins (2021-23), Vegas Golden Knights (2017-22) and Detroit Red Wings (2015-17).
Likely to draw in on the fourth line when returning, the first-year Panther will provide even more stability to the line that has seen success with a combination of Jesper Boqvist, A.J. Greer, Jonah Gadjovich and Patrick Giles.
“It’s always fun to get the guys back,” said Anton Lundell. “We're a tight group, so you never want to see anybody being out or hurt. We all know how it is to not be able to play and to get back in practice. They're all smiles, we're all smiles, so it's exciting to have them back.”
Stay tuned for more updates on Nosek’s status in the coming days and weeks.
