SUNRISE, Fla. -Chase Priskie had to do a double take.
Pulling into the parking lot at FLA Live Arena on Monday, the Pembroke Pines native hit the brakes for a moment when he saw there was a graphic of himself on the building's marquee announcing that he'd be making his NHL debut later that evening for his hometown Panthers.
PREVIEW: Priskie to Make NHL Debut with Hometown Panthers vs. Capitals
"As I entered, I stopped for a second," he said, "because I didn't think it was real."
While Priskie had been tipped off about his impending debut by his coach in the AHL, Geordie Kinnear, on Thursday, seeing the news in big bright lights like that made it suddenly feel much more real. A local kid through and through, this was the arena he'd basically lived in during his childhood, the sheet of ice that he used to dream about playing on when he was a Jr. Panther.
But in a few hours, that dream will become a reality.
"To be honest, I'm mostly just speechless," said Priskie, who was acquired by Florida at the trade deadline in 2020. "You dream about this day forever. You put in a lot of hard work and with some luck you're able to achieve it. I'm going to just try and be in the moment and play."
A literal lifelong fan of the Panthers, Priskie's parents, Lisa and Jeff, took him to his first game at Miami Arena when he was just 27 days old back in 1996. Then when the Panthers moved their arena to Broward County, the Priskie family went to even more games as season ticket holders.
Seemingly destined to play hockey, Priskie, now 25, first learned to skate at Pines Ice Arena, which was only a few miles away from his house. Throughout his development, he suited up for local junior clubs, played at North Broward Prep and then headed north to further his career.
Later recruited by Quinnipiac University, Priskie, who is known as an offensive defenseman, played four seasons for the Bobcats -- notching at least 25 points in all four of those campaigns -- and was drafted by the Capitals in the sixth-round (177th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Since turning pro, Priskie has played in 75 games in the AHL over parts of the last two seasons, including racking up six goals and 25 assists in 52 games with Charlotte as a rookie in 2019-20.
"I'm really excited for him obviously," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of Priskie, who will be paired with Kevin Connauton in his debut. "I think it's exciting for South Florida hockey that they get to see one of their own play an NHL game. How special is that?"
With his career now coming full circle, Priskie said he'll have anywhere from 60-70 friends and family in the building to cheer him on tonight as the Panthers take on the Capitals. That being said, his thoughts will be on the one person who isn't there, as his father passed away in 2013.
"When I walk into this rink, all I can think about is my dad," said Priskie, whose dad worked at the arena's Patron Club (now the Sin Bin) for several years. "It's been an emotional two years here. I'm really excited to play in this building for my first NHL game. I know he'd be proud."
With Priskie now in the mix, the Panthers will look to keep building on their torrid start.
Stringing together a nine-game point streak out of the gate, the Panthers, who occupy first place in the Atlantic Division with a stellar record of 8-0-1, enter tonight's matchup against Washington looking to bounce back after being handed their first loss of the season on Saturday in Boston.
Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov both scored for the Panthers in regulation to get the game to overtime and eventually a shootout, where Charlie Coyle scored the lone goal to give the Bruins a 3-2 win. In net, Spencer Knight took his first-career loss despite making 31 saves.
Earning 17 of a possible 18 points in the standings, the Panthers led the NHL in goals (36), even-strength goals (29) in October. Jonathan Huberdeau paced the team in scoring with 11 points, Aleksander Barkov had 10, and nine other players recorded at least five of their own.
Strong at both ends of the ice, Florida also allowed just 1.89 goals per game last month.
A big part of that stalwart defense has been Sergei Bobrovsky, who will look to improve his personal record to 7-0-0 tonight. A two-time Vezina Trophy winner, he's given up two-or-fewer goals in five of his six starts, owning a 1.81 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
"He just seems so calm and focused right now," Brunette said. "I think the group has rallied around him. He's been unbelievable, and so has Spencer [Knight]. They've allowed us to have some mishaps structurally and still win some games here. It's fun to see him in this mode."
In terms of lineup notes, Radko Gudas, Markus Nutivaara and Sam Bennett are all expected to miss tonight's game while nursing minor injuries. To fill that void, Maxim Mamin was recalled along with Priskie from the AHL, while rookie Anton Lundell is slated to return from an injury.
Sitting at 5-1-3 and in third place in the Metropolitan Division, the Capitals enter tonight's matchup on the heels of their first regulation loss of the season at Tampa Bay on Monday.
In that 3-2 loss to the Lightning, Brett Leason and Conor Sheary each lit the lamp, while Vitek Vanececk turned aside 23 of 26 shots in net. Shutting down Washington's offense -- which is currently averaging 3.56 goals per game -- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for Tampa Bay.
Yet to announce a starter, it could be Vanecek or Illya Samsonov for Washington tonight.
"I think for the most part it was a pretty good 60-minute game," Sheary, who has points in two of his last three games, said after the loss. "We gave them the 5-on-3, and they were able to get some momentum off that. But other than that I thought we worked hard and got our chances."
Climbing the NHL's all-time goals list, Alex Ovechkin, who needs just two more scores to match Brett Hull's mark of 741 for fourth place, leads the Capitals in scoring with 15 points (nine goals, six assists), while Evgeny Kuznetsov is just behind him with 13 points (five goals, eight assists).
In 65 career games against the Panthers, Ovechkin has netted 39 goals.
"We know we have some tough competition against Washington," Panthers forward Frank Vatrano said. "They're a great team from top to bottom, and we have to be ready to play. … Our schedule hasn't been easy by any means, but we're ready to play regardless of who our competition is every single night. Tonight's going to be a really good challenge for us."
PANTHERS NOTES
- After missing four games with an injury, Anton Lundell is expected to return to the ice for the Panthers. In five games this season, the rookie center has tallied two goals and three assists.
- Maxim Mamin is expected to make his season debut with Florida. A sixth-round pick (175th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, the 26-year-old forward returned to the Panthers on a one-year contract during the offseason after spending the last three seasons playing in Russia's KHL.
- Jonathan Huberdeau has posted 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 22 career games against the Capitals.
- Aleksander Barkov has notched 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 17 career games against the Capitals. With three more goals, the Panthers captain will surpass Olli Jokinen (188) for first place on the franchise's all-time goals list.
- Aaron Ekblad leads Florida's defensemen in scoring with nine points (three goals, six assists), registering at least one point in seven of nine games to start the season.
- Anthony Duclair leads the Panthers with six goals.
- MacKenzie Weegar leads Florida with 20 blocked shots.
- Sam Reinhart has at least one point in five of his last seven games (two goals, five assists).
- Dating back to last season, the Panthers have won nine straight games at home.
PANTHERS LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau - Sam Reinhart - Owen Tippett
Mason Marchment - Anton Lundell - Maxim Mamin
Frank Vatrano - Eetu Luostarinen - Patric Hornqvist
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling - Brandon Montour
Kevin Connauton - Chase Priskie
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 3: F Maxim Mamin and D Chase Priskie recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 31: F Zac Dalpe and D Chase Priskie reassigned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 30: F Joe Thornton placed on IR; F Zac Dalpe recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
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HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When:Thursday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: FLA Live Arena - Sunrise, FL
TV:Bally Sports Florida
Stream:Bally Sports App, ESPN+ (Out of Region)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM Channel 222 / App & Streaming 932
Tickets:
HERE
In-Arena Activations
- Purchase your 50/50 Raffle tickets prior to puck drop to get double the number of tickets. With half the proceeds benefitting the Florida Panthers Foundation, visit
FloridaPanthers.com/5050
.
- It's another Thirsty Thursday at FLA Live Arena! Fans can purchase and enjoy discounted Yuengling, Yuengling Flight, Corona and other domestic products at all concession stands.
