JetBlue 2019-20 Season Rewind: Riley Stillman

Riley Stillman reveled at the opportunity to learn the ropes with the Florida Panthers this past season.
After making his NHL debut and suiting up in one game during the 2018-19 campaign, the 22-year-old rookie defenseman took the ice in 34 contests in 2019-20, racking up five assists, 59 hits, 57 blocked shots and 13 takeaways while averaging a sizeable 19:07 of ice time per game.

"It's exciting," Stillman said during Florida's Return to Play training camp in July. "It's been a long journey, but a short journey, and I'm excited to keep things going in the right direction."
Soaking up all the information he could while sharing the blue line with veteran Anton Stralman throughout the majority of the campaign, Stillman appeared to gain more and more confidence as the season went on before suffering an injury just before the season was paused in March.
Early on, it was evident that Panthers coach Joel Quenneville had a lot of trust in the rookie.
"Stiller had an interesting year," Quenneville said. "I thought he came on and right off the bat, he instilled a real presence on our back end. He brought some physicality. I thought he had real good puck movement and simplicity to his game."
While he's currently known more for the physical, defensive-minded presence that he brings to the ice, Stillman also showed that he does have an offensive upside as well. From Jan. 1-12, 6-foot-1, 196-pound rearguard registered four assists (one of them primary) over a six-game span.
Always playing with an edge, he also dropped the gloves twice throughout the season.
"I'm lucky enough to get the experience that I have gotten at the age that I'm at," said Stillman, the son of former Panthers forward Cory Stillman. "But it's something that I think I'm just still trying to focus day to day. Never too high, never too low, just moving forward.
"But, I think it's something that in the long run, if I just step back, maybe it's something I'll do after the season, it'll be like, 'Hey, I got this experience at this age and things happened.' And I think that's something that I'll be able to look back at one day."
When it comes to getting experience at a young age, no minutes were likely more valuable to Stillman's development than the action he saw during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. In the lineup for three of four games against the New York Islanders, he recorded six hits and two blocked shots while averaging 17:19 of ice time per matchup.
"It's a whole new level," Stillman said when asked about his playoff debut. "Obviously, every step is a different level. You go from minor hockey to junior, junior to the AHL, the AHL to the NHL, the NHL to the playoffs. Every level has got that two or three steps.
"It's the butterflies or whatever you want to call it. And then eventually after you get out there later into the game, it just becomes, 'You know what? It's another game. I'm here to do what I can to help the team.' And you get over that as the game gets going."
Originally selected by the Panthers in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Stillman will enter the 2020-21 campaign eager to battle for a roster spot with the Panthers.

COOL STAT

It was rare for Stillman to go more than a few games without accruing at least a few bruises.
Finishing the season with 57 blocked shots in 34 games, his 5.26 blocks per 60 minutes ranked third in the NHL among rookie defenseman that suited up in at least 20 games. Among first-year blueliners that saw action in at least 30 matchups, however, he owned the No. 1 spot on the list.
Picking up at least one blocked shot in 24 of 34 games, he never went more than two contests without getting in the way of at least one shot. He also tallied at least three blocked shots in 12 different games, including reaching as many as five blocked shots on two separate occasions.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, 19 of Stillman's blocked shots came on the penalty kill.

BEST GAME

When the Panthers were sent to the penalty kill, Stillman came up big time and time again during a crucial 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena back on Jan. 18.
Of the 21:54 he spent on the ice in the Motor City, a whopping 7:34 came on the penalty kill, which placed him in a tie with Stralman for the most shorthanded minutes on the team that night.
Holding down the fort valiantly in front of Sergei Bobrovsky's net, Detroit's power play managed to let loose just seven shots on goal and three scoring chances when Stillman was on the ice.
"I thought the PK was outstanding," Quenneville said after the win.
Thanks in large part to his contributions on the penalty kill, Quenneville rewarded Stillman with big minutes as the game neared its end. Finishing with 21:54 of ice time - the second most of his career at the time -- the talented rookie skated an impressive 9:13 in the third period alone.
In addition to his work on special teams, Stillman matched a career-high with five blocked shots.
"The PK is a big part of my game here," Stillman said. "I need to keep that going in the right direction and help the team with that. It gives confidence to the coaching staff in playing me in those roles. With as many kills as we did [against Detroit], it allowed that time to increase."

HIT OF THE YEAR

While he's still waiting for his first goal, Stillman has already had more than a few huge hits.
And looking back at this game in Arizona on Feb. 25, this check should've counted as two.
In the clip below, Stillman puts his shoulder into Christian Dvorak as he attempts to enter Florida's defensive zone. Sent flying by the force of the hit, Dvorak then crashes into his teammate, Lawson Crouse, before both Coyotes forwards eventually fall down to the ice.
With Stillman finishing the night with a season-high five hits, the Panthers won the game 2-1.