Panthers 2020-21 NCAA Prospects Preview

Grab your pencils, books and hockey sticks because school's back in session.
While the Big Ten (Nov. 13) and Atlantic Hockey (Nov. 14) have already gotten underway, other top NCAA conferences such as Hockey East (Nov. 20), WCHA (Nov. 20) and NCHC (Dec. 1) are expected to soon follow suit and drop the puck on the highly-anticipated 2020-21 campaign in the coming weeks.
With representation from each of the organization's last three drafts, the Florida Panthers currently have 10 prospects that are slated to compete within the NCAA ranks this season, including 2019 first-round pick Spencer Knight, who hopes to backstop Boston College to a coveted national championship.

Knight, however, isn't alone in receiving pre-season praise from pundits around the hockey world.
In a recent article from The Hockey News
, senior writer Ryan Kennedy had seven Panthers prospects on his list of 100 players to watch this season, including Knight (No. 6), Ty Smilanic (No. 19), Zach Uens (No. 37), Logan Hutsko (No. 41), Michael Benning (No. 44), Owen Lindmark (No. 53) and Devon Levi (No. 97).
Taking a deeper look at those players and more, here's all 10 Panthers prospects that you can find in the NCAA this season, starting with players selected in this year's draft and moving backwards from there.

Ty Smilanic

Position:Center
School: Quinnipiac
Conference:ECAC
Drafted: 3rd round, 74th overall, 2020 NHL Draft
Smilanic enters his freshman season at Quinnipiac with high expectations.
The highest-drafted player in the school's history, the 18-year-old forward is coming off a 2019-20 campaign in which he battled through injuries to post 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 34 games with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP), often serving as their top-line center.
In 12 games with USNTDP's junior team in the USHL, he also recorded three goals and six assists.

"That's a cool feeling," Smilanic said after the draft in October. "It's a great group of guys right now. I look at my phone and I think every single one of my teammates texted and congratulated me. The culture they have here at Quinnipiac is unbelievable. To be the highest-drafted player from Quinnipiac is cool, but it also shows their movement [as a school]. They've always been a great college for hockey."
With the Bobcats entering the 2020-21 season as the 13th-ranked team in the nation, Smilanic will have a chance to compete for a national title as he joins a solid group of forwards, including Quinnipiac's top-two scorers from last season in senior Odeen Tufto (38 points) and junior Wyatt Bongiovanni (25 points).
Due to recent pandemic-related changes within the ECAC, Quinnipiac has yet to release their schedule.

Michael Benning

Position: Defenseman
School: Denver
Conference: NCHC
Drafted: 4th round, 95th overall, 2020 NHL Draft
Entering his freshman season, Benning will be chasing a championship with No. 5 Denver.
Armed with an accurate shot and great hands, the 18-year-old defenseman's skills were on full display during the 2019-20 season with the AJHL's Sherwood Park Crusaders. Finishing with 77 points (31 goals, 46 assists) in 54 games, he captured both the AJHL and CJHL's "Most Outstanding Defenseman" award.
In 2018-19, he was also named the AJHL's top rookie after recording 10 goals and 51 assists in 60 games.

"For me as a player, I think I'm an offensive defenseman," Benning said during last month's draft. "I'm a puck-moving guy. I can create a lot of stuff offensively, especially on the power play… A lot of energy in me, too. I like to get the boys fired up."
With the Pioneers, Benning is one of two high-profile incoming freshman that will be fighting to carve out a spot on the team's blue line, with the other being talented Finnish rearguard Antti Tuomisto, who was selected early in the second round (35th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Denver is scheduled to begin its season on Dec. 2 against No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth.
"Playing with older guys, I think it's going to be a good help for me," Benning said of the NCAA.

Zach Uens

Position:Defenseman
School: Merrimack
Conference: Hockey East
Drafted: 4th round, 105th overall, 2020 NHL Draft
Fresh off a solid freshman season, Uens will look to take another big step as a sophomore.
After being passed over in last year's draft, the 19-year-old took that hefty chip on his shoulder and used it turn himself into one of the top skaters on Merrimack's blue line in 2019-20. Finishing second among the team's defenseman in scoring, he produced an impressive 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 34 games.
Of those points, eight came on the power play.
"It definitely motivated me a lot," Uens said of going undrafted. "It hurts not getting drafted, especially when I thought I probably should've gone last year. I don't think I would've gone as high, so it's pretty gratifying to see all of your hard work paying off from this past year."

One of two up-and-coming sophomores within the Warriors' budding defensive core -- the other being Declan Carlile, who led the team's blueliners with 22 points last season -- Uens will likely be counted on to produce in all situations during the upcoming season, especially when the extra attacker is on the ice.
Unranked out of the gate, Merrimack is scheduled to open its season against Maine on Dec. 4.

Devon Levi

Position: Goaltender
School: Northeastern
Conference: Hockey East
Drafted: 7th round, 212th overall, 2020 NHL Draft
After dominating the AJHL, Levi is eager to put his skills to the test in the NCAA ranks.
Gearing up for his freshman season at Northeastern, the 18-year-old goaltender is coming off a stellar 2019-20 campaign with the CCHL's Carleton Place Canadians in which he went 34-2-1 with a 1.47 goals-against average and .941 save percentage en route to being named the league's "Most Valuable Player."
Racking up eight shutouts over his 37 appearances, he surrendered more than two goals just five times.

"We had a great team and coach," Levi said of his breakout season. "I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. I give a lot of credit to the guys in the locker room and to the awesome team and leaders we had last year. I just played and had fun. I didn't look at my numbers at all during the season. I sort of put that behind me and prioritized winning over having good stats. I just let the numbers appear."
With the Huskies, Levi should have a good chance to earn some playing time following the graduation of starter Craig Pantano, who appeared in all 34 of Northeastern's games last season. With Pantano gone, only goaltenders Curtis Frye (one game) and Connor Murphy (two games) saw time in net in 2019-20.
However, given that he was invited to attend Canada's selection camp for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, Levi is expected to miss Northeastern's season opener scheduled for Nov. 27 against No. 11 UMass-Lowell.
"Almost every family in Canada watches the World Juniors," Levi said. "It was a big thing growing up every single year with my family. It's a huge event. To have the opportunity to possibly take part in that and represent my country is a dream come true as well. I was just so happy to get the invite."
In 2019, Levi backstopped Canada East to a second-place finish at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge.

Spencer Knight

Position: Goaltender
School: Boston College
Conference: Hockey East
Drafted:1st round, 13th overall, 2019 NHL Draft
Knight is easily one of the most talked about NCAA goaltenders heading into the 2020-21 season.
Starting all but one game for the Eagles during his freshman campaign in 2019-20, the 19-year-old goaltender recorded a 23-8-2 record with a 1.97 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. He also ranked third in the nation with five shutouts, including one in just his second-ever NCAA start.
In addition to being named a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, which is handed out annually to the nation's top goalie, he also earned a spot on the Hockey East Second All-Star Team, was a unanimous selection to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, and took home a total of six Hockey East Weekly Awards.
"A really good season from top to bottom," Knight said. "I thought we had a very deep team. From the seniors down to the freshmen, everyone was contributing, which was great. It was a great year on the ice. What really drew to that was that everyone was so close."
One of the main reasons that Boston College is entering the season as the No. 2 team in the nation, Knight will likely not only be a contender for the Mike Richter Award as a sophomore, but also the Hobey Baker Award, which is given out annually to the consensus top player in the entire NCAA.
In preparation for the upcoming 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, Knight also took part in USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp in October. Named one of USA's "Top-3 Players" at the 2020 World Juniors, he finished last year's tournament run with a 2-2-0 record and .913 save percentage.
With the tournament set to begin in December, Knight appears locked into USA's starting job again.

"Playing last year definitely helps," said Knight, who also won a silver medal as a backup goalie with Team USA at the 2019 World Juniors. "As a goalie, I think every good goalie wants to play. They feel better when they're playing and not just going in and out of games and stuff. That causes inconsistency. Being able to play a bunch, feel the grind of a tournament, it's a lot. I think that's actually a good part."
Boston College is scheduled to open its season on Nov. 20 against New Hampshire.

Carter Berger

Position: Defenseman
School:UConn
Conference: Hockey East
Drafted:4th round, 106th overall, 2019 NHL Draft
Beginning his NCAA career as a 20-year-old freshman, Berger looked a few steps ahead in 2019-20.
Appearing in 31 games for the Huskies, the former BCHL standout finished third among the school's blueliners in scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists). His best game came on Feb. 28, when he registered a career-high three points (one goal, two assists) during a 3-2 upset win over No. 8 UMass.

"I'm a late-bloomer," Berger said after being drafted by the Panthers in 2019. "With the college route, it offers you so much time to develop. You obviously want to make that step to pro hockey as quick as possible, but at the same time you don't want to rush it. I think the college path is perfect for that."
Heading into his sophomore season, Berger, now 21, is expected to see plenty of minutes on unranked UConn's blue line as he and fellow second-year stud Yan Kuznetsov, who was taken in the second round (50th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, should be the team's key pillars on defense.
The Huskies are scheduled to begin their season on Nov. 20 against UMass.

Owen Lindmark

Position:Forward
School:Wisconsin
Conference:Big Ten
Drafted: 5th round, 137th overall, 2019 NHL Draft
Lindmark is already off and running during his sophomore season at Wisconsin.
With two assists through the first two games of the 2020-21 campaign, the 19-year-old forward helped the Badgers pick up back-to-back wins over No. 20 Notre Dame during the Big Ten's opening weekend on Nov. 13-14. In those two games, he also tallied two shots, one block and finished with a plus-2 rating.
During his freshman season in 2019-20, Lindmark also got off to a hot start, recording five points (three goals, two assists) over the first five games of his collegiate career. From there, he would go on to finish the year with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 36 games, including a team-high two shorthanded goals.

At Wisconsin, Lindmark is part of a gifted forward group that includes sophomore Cole Caufield (15th overall, 2019 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens), freshman Dylan Holloway (14th overall, 2020 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers) and senior Linus Weissbach (192nd overall, 2017 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres). Through the first two games of the season, all four of them have registered at least two points.
Like Knight, Lindmark also attended USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp in October and could potentially find his way onto the team's roster for the upcoming 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The Badgers will continue their season against No. 12 Michigan on Nov. 19.

Logan Hutsko

Position:Forward
School: Boston College
Conference: Hockey East
Drafted: 3rd round, 89th overall, 2018 NHL Draft
With Knight, Hutsko is chasing a national championship during his senior season at Boston College.
Helping push the Eagles into contention before the 2019-20 season was cancelled due to the pandemic, the 21-year-old saw his offensive numbers spike as a junior. Playing on the team's top line, he set new career-highs in goals (19) and points (33) in 30 games, with his 19 goals being tied for the team-lead.
Opening up the season on a 12-game point streak, he recorded at least one point in 26 of 30 contests.

"As you get older in college, you start to gain more confidence each year," Hutsko said. "You develop each year. I think just finally having some more confidence this year in my scoring abilities and that sense. You just keep trying to grow each year and becoming a better player."
After closing out last season as the fourth-ranked team in the nation, Boston College enters the 2020-21 campaign at No. 2 and as one of the favorites to win the NCAA championship. And with only one more chance to claim college hockey's ultimate prize, Hutsko is more motivated than ever to be at his best.
"We have a really great group coming back," Hutsko said. "Everyone is kind of sticking around and coming back. I think we have a group that can have a really special year and win some trophies. That was a big part of my decision [to return to school]."
The Eagles are scheduled to kick off their season on Nov. 20 against New Hampshire.

Cole Krygier

Position:Forward
School: Michigan State
Conference:Big Ten
Drafted: 7th round, 201st overall, 2018 NHL Draft
Krygier will look to lock it down on defense during his junior season at Michigan State.
One of four regulars to return from last season's blue line, the 20-year-old will have a good opportunity to build off a sophomore season in which he set new career-highs in goals (3), points (6) and shots on goal (51). A stable presence in the back end, he also competed in all 36 of the team's games in 2019-20.

Known for his physicality and toughness, Krygier, along with his twin brother and fellow junior Christian, who was taken with 196th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders, will be counted on as upperclassmen to be the backbone of the Spartans defense throughout the entire 2020-21 campaign.
Michigan State is schedule to begin its season on Nov. 19 against No. 15 Arizona State.

Tyler Inamoto

Position: Defenseman
School: Wisconsin
Conference: Big Ten
Drafted: 5th round, 133rd overall, 2017 NHL Draft
Inamoto is hoping to end his collegiate career on a high note during his senior season at Wisconsin.
A staple of the Badgers blue line since his days as a freshman, the 21-year-old rearguard has competed in at least 34 games in each of his first three NCAA seasons thus far. Known for his physicality, toughness and defensive prowess, he ranked seventh in the nation with 79 blocked shots as a junior in 2019-20.
On offense, he recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) in 35 games last season.
Serving as an alternate captain, Inamoto has already gotten off to a good start in 2020-21. Helping Wisconsin to back-to-back wins over Notre Dame last week, he tallied one assist and a plus-2 rating.
The Badgers are scheduled to continue their season on Nov. 19 against No. 12 Michigan.