Prospects 'Take Step in the Right Direction' as Panthers Wrap Up Showcase

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - There's no doubt these prospects have a lot of fight in them.
Despite falling behind by three goals, the Panthers put their heads down and managed to pull even with the cross-state rival Lightning before eventually losing by a score of 8-5 in their third and final game of the Prospect Showcase Tournament at AdventHealth Center Ice on Tuesday.

"I thought the guys competed from start to finish," said Geordie Kinnear, the head coach of Florida's AHL affiliate. "We got down by 5-2 and then dug in. We came back and made it 5-5, made it a good game. I'm definitely proud and appreciate the work the kids put in today."
Putting themselves behind the eight ball early, the Panthers, who dressed 18 players instead of the usual 20, fell into an unenviable 2-0 hole when Jack Thompson and Maxim Cajkovic each found the back of the net for the Lightning at 9:35 and 11:06, respectively, in the first period.
Trimming that deficit in half, the Panthers then struck back when Federic Brunet sent Serron Noel and Henry Bowlby up ice on a 2-on-1 break with a smooth breakout pass. Skating up the right side of the ice, Noel patiently held onto the puck before sliding it around a defender right onto Bowlby's stick for an easy tap-in goal on Hugo Alnefelt to make it a 2-1 game at 14:11.

"I played with Noelsy a little bit last year, so it was good playing with him," said Bowlby, who notched four points (three goals, one assist) in three games at the tournament. "I thought our line was playing pretty well [all tournament], and I was just the beneficiary of that."
Entering his second professional season, Bowlby, who inked a two-year, entry-level contract with Florida in August of 2020, made his pro debut and competed in 23 games in the AHL with Syracuse this past season, racking up 14 points (eight goals, six assists) over those contests.
"I think it's huge," Bowlby said when asked about being able to get his feet wet with the Crunch. "I just feel a little bit more comfortable here at camp, just having that experience and knowing what it's like in the AHL. I'm just looking to take that and build on it as we go into camp here."
Sent to the power play, the Lightning responded to Bowlby's goal with one of their own when Xavier Cormier rifled a one-timer past Spencer Knight to make it 3-1 with 3:38 left in the period.
Appearing in his first game of the tournament, Cole Schwindt, filling in for Anton Lundell as the top-line center on the Panthers, set up shop on the right side of Tampa Bay's net and buried a rebound after a shot from Brunet to make it a 3-2 game just 53 seconds into the second period.
Netting a rebound goal of his own, Cajkovic touched twine for the second time on the afternoon to make it 4-2 at 8:44. That would be the last shot that Knight would face, as backup Olivier Adam took over in net. Wasting no time in challenging the fresh goalie, Cameron MacDonald gathered a loose puck near the left hash mark and scored to put the Lightning up 5-2 at 10:33.
Down but not out, the Panthers then began to mount their comeback.
Set up by a smooth touch-pass from Justin Nachbaur in transition, Simon Pinard slipped behind Tampa Bay's defense and beat Alnefelt on a breakaway to make it 5-3 at 11:36. Less than two minutes later, Bowlby buried his second goal of the game through traffic to make it 5-4 at 13:08.
Putting an exclamation point on the back-and-forth period, Logan Hutsko collected a smooth drop pass from Connor Trenholm and ripped a laser into to the top right corner of the net to make it 5-5 at 17:03 and pull the Panthers even heading into the final 20 minutes of action.

"He's a fun player to watch," Kinnear said. "You can see his creativity, his skill when he gets his opportunities. He scored some big goals and allowed us to come back. He had a good showing. There were a lot of kids that left it all out there with the work ethic. I'm proud of all those kids."
Making a noticeable dent on the scoresheet in all three games, Hutsko, a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, finished the tournament with a team-high five points (three goals, two assists).
"I've known Logan a long time and he's always been a skilled player," defenseman Max Gildon said of Hutsko, a former teammate of his within Team USA's program. "It's still fun to watch him play and handle the puck. It makes my job a lot easier when he's playing that way."
Taking the lead back just 1:37 into the third period, Declan McDonnell received a pass from Shawn Element and roofed a shot over Adam to make it 6-5. Helping the Lightning pull away from the Panthers even further, he tallied his second goal of the game at 6:57 to make it 7-5.
With 34 seconds left in regulation, Jaydon Dureau cashed in on empty net to make it 8-5.
Following a thrilling 60 minutes of play, the two teams then participated in a shootout. With both goaltenders making it tough on the opposition, Gage Goncalves scored for the Lightning, while Pinard and Schwindt each scored for the Panthers to lock in a 2-1 win in the skills competition.

Overall, the Panthers feel they are leaving the tournament better than when they arrived.
"It's a step in the right direction," Gildon said confidently. "You get to put on the Panthers logo and kind of get a taste of what it's like to feel and play like other NHL-caliber players. It's fun."
Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com this week for more videos and insights from D-Camp.

NOTES

-- After going two games without dropping the gloves, it seemed fitting that the Panthers only scrap of the tournament would come against the cross-state rival Lightning as Nachbaur and Roman Schmidt traded blows just 8:22 into the first period to set the tone for the matchup.

"It's always awesome to see a guy stand up for teammates, stand up for himself and put his own body on the line for the team," Gildon said of the fight. "It was really nice to see that."
-- Speaking of physical play, check out this hit from Grigori Denisenko in the clip below.

-- Taking a look at the overall statistics for the tournament, 13 different Panthers recorded at least one point over the three-game showcase. Hutsko and Bowlby each scored three goals, while Noel tallied a pair. In terms of helpers, Anton Lundell, Justin Sourdif and Hutsko all had two assists, while Nachbaur and Brunet each registered a team-leading three apples apiece.
-- Want to know what life was like behind the scenes for the Panthers in Wesley Chapel? Make sure to check out Hutsko's latest personal diary entry at FloridaPanthers.com by clicking HERE.

-- With D-Camp in the books, the Panthers will hold their annual Media Day on Wednesday.

PANTHERS LINES

Forwards
Grigori Denisenko - Cole Schwindt - Logan Hutsko
Henry Bowlby - Trevor Wong - Serron Noel
Justin Nachbaur - Connor Trenholm - Simon Pinard
Eric Alarie
Defensemen
Matt Kiersted - Max Gildon
Frederic Brunet - Rob Calisti
Jacob LeGuerrier - Braden Hache
Goaltenders
Spencer Knight
Olivier Adam