NOTEBOOK: Hornqvist Practices; Verhaeghe Promoted

In today's Baptist Health Practice Notebook, Patric Hornqvist makes his debut at training camp, Carter Verhaeghe skates on the Panthers top line and more!

SUNRISE, Fla.- After being absent from the first few days of training camp, new Florida Panthers forward Patric Hornqvist returned to the ice on Saturday morning at BB&T Center.
With the majority of the session spent working at 5-on-5, the 34-year-old veteran teamed up with Jonathan Huberdeau on Alex Wennberg to form what could prove to be an effective line.
"I thought he looked good coming off that absence there are the start," head coach Joel Quenneville said. "He did all the drills. I thought we'd keep an eye on him, and he was fine... A lot of enthusiasm, great leadership qualities. He's going to really help our team in a lot of ways."
Acquired during the offseason in a trade with Pittsburgh, Hornqvist notched 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 52 games last season. With a knack for finding the back of the net, he scored at least 20 goals four times over his six seasons with the Penguins, including 29 back in 2018-19.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion (2016, 2017), the hard-nosed forward was brought in to not only inject some scoring into Florida's lineup, but also a good deal of character and experience.
"He means business when he's on the ice," Quenneville said of Hornqvist, who's also amassed 46 points (25 goals, 21 assists) in 90 career playoff games. "You could sense right from the get-go here that his attitude was nice to see."
Hornqvist is expected to speak with the media on Sunday to discuss his return to action.

VERHAEGHE PROMOTED

Hornqvist's return wasn't the only big news among the Panthers forward group this morning.
After scoring a pair of goals during Thursday's scrimmage at BB&T Center, fellow newcomer Carter Verhaeghe spent practice on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair.

A great forechecker and driver of possession, Quenneville believes he could fit in well there.
"He's had a great camp," Quenneville said of Verhaeghe. "That versatility that he gives our lineup, he's going to be useful in a lot of ways. He can play with anybody. I think his whole career he seems to get better each and every year. He brings energy, has a good presence around pucks, can see and make plays, and he anticipates well. He can play with top guys."
Fresh off hoisting the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay, Verhaeghe is entering his first season with the Panthers after joining the team on a two-year contract during free agency. Suiting up in 52 games as a rookie with the Lightning in 2019-20, he notched 13 points (nine goals, four assists).
Showing flashes of brilliance despite averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game with the Bolts, the 25-year-old could turn out to be a diamond in the rough as he is expected to take on a much larger role with the Cats -- an opportunity he's clearly already taking advantage of.
"He was behind a pretty deep lineup in Tampa, but he's a very useful player," Quenneville said.

MONTY MAKING MOVES

Sam Montembeault is feeling good following a solid performance in Thursday's scrimmage.
Manning the pipes for the entire game - which included a full 20 minutes of special teams work in the third period - the 24-year-old goaltender appeared calm and collected while giving up just one goal in regulation and full overtime frame to lead Team Red to an 8-1 win over Team White.
"I felt really good," Montembeault said. "I think camp has been going great so far. Obviously, it was good to get back with some game-like action… It was great. I was a little stressed before, but I was lucky to get a few shots at the beginning of the [first] period to really help me get in."

A third-round pick (77th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, Montembeault appeared in 14 games with the Panthers last season, posting a 5-5-1 record with a 3.34 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. Over 11 games in the AHL, he went 5-5-1 with a .918 save percentage.
Likely third on Florida's goaltending depth chart behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Chis Driedger, Montembeault knows he needs to be more ready than ever due to the uncertainty of this year.
"It's going to be a different year, especially with the crowded schedule," said Montembeault, who spent his offseason working to improve everything from his positioning to his glove work while training at home in Quebec. "You never know what's going to happen. We have a lot more back-to-back games. With COVID and injuries, we don't know what's gong to happen. I just want to be good in practice, have good habits and be ready when I get the opportunity to play."
Appearing in 25 NHL games over the past two seasons, Montembeault owns a 9-8-3 record.

SCHEDULE CHANGE

On Friday, the NHL announced that the Dallas Stars would have to postpone the start of their season until at least Jan. 19 after a COVID-19 outbreak was reported within the organization.
For the Panthers, who were scheduled to open their season with a back-to-back at home against the Stars on Jan. 14-15, this means that they will also have to adjust their schedule as a result.
Prior to the news, Quenneville said that he had initially planned to have the team working on the ice every day leading up to the Home Opener on Jan. 14. Of course, now that the Cats will kick off their season on Jan. 17 against the Chicago Blackhawks instead, that's going to be changed.
While nothing has been finalized yet, Quenneville said that there's a chance the team could hold a second scrimmage in order to stay sharp before hosting the Blackhawks. He also said that, given all of the extra practice time, that "priority one" will be making sure players get a day off.
"We've got some options to make sure that we're ready to go," Quenneville said.
Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com and @FlaPanthers on Twitter for scheduling updates.

EXTRA NOTES

• Sergei Bobrovsky, Markus Nutivaara and Juho Lammikko were absent from this morning's practice.
  - Prior to practice, the Panthers trimmed their training camp roster from 39 down to 33. Henry Bowlby, Serron Noel, Jake Massie, Max Gildon and John Ludvig were assigned to the AHL, while veteran goaltender Scott Darling was released from his professional tryout (PTO).