Rookie Showcase: Learning the Panther way

NASHVILLE – Learning to fly.

Over the weekend, prospects of the Florida Panthers went head-to-head with prospects of the Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning at Ford Ice Center in Nashville.

On Friday, the Panthers started the Showcase with a 5-2 win over the hosting Predators.

“It was a great group to work with,” said Charlotte Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear, who manned the bench at the tournament. “You want to see everyone be successful. I was actually talking to some of the coaches wondering how many players that were undrafted or on tryouts that came to these camps and actually made NHL careers, I think the number would be pretty high. You want to give the guys every chance in the world to have an opportunity to prove themselves.”

One of the guys to have a big weekend was forward Hunter St. Martin, a 2024 sixth-round pick.

Finding the back of the net in all three games, the dynamic 18-year-old made climbed his way up the depth chart to the top line for games two and three after a strong performance in the opener.

“His composure [is impressive], for a young guy,” Kinnear said of St. Martin. “You play against the Hurricanes, for example, they don’t give you a lot of space and you still have to be able to make plays. I thought he’s been a real positive and you can see the growth.”

Dropping Saturday’s game 7-3 to the Hurricanes, the Panthers still left the ice with some positives.

“It was nice to be able to watch the first game too and just get a read on what the play was like,” said camp invite Riley Hughes, one of the goal scorers in Game 2. “We had one more day to get to know everybody as well because it's a new group of guys. We haven't had much time to get to know each other, so it was nice. It was good to get out there. It's a fast pace to switch up from summer skates, so you kind of just get thrown into the fire, but it was a good time.”

Trading hockey sticks for putters, the team enjoyed a day away from the rink on Sunday.

Not taking a break from competition, however, the tension still ran high even at Puttshack.

All in good fun.

“It's been awesome,” said forward prospect Kai Schwindt. “Coming into my third rookie term here, just trying to be a good leader and lead on and off the ice. We had an amazing group. All great guys, like always. The coaches are unbelievable as well. It's been nothing but good.”

In the third and final game of the Showcase in the Music City, the Panthers fell to the Lightning by a score of 5-2, but were able to leave the game and weekend with plenty of learning experiences.

“I think everybody learns from mistakes rather than successes,” said Czech defensive prospect Mikulas Hovorka, who attended his first Rookie Showcase. “Success is great, but you learn from those mistakes. It was good for everybody to come here and learn how they play in Florida and Charlotte."

Overall, the effort and willingness to learn was evident from start to finish from the prospects.

“The compete level, the work ethic, think some of the best hockey they played was the last 10 minutes of the game (of Game 3 against Tampa Bay), the compete level, the physicality, the one-on-one battles,” Kinnear said. “I appreciate the work this week, everyone gave me what they had.”

With a competitive weekend to get their legs under them, prospects should have a good jump and chance to build momentum heading into training camp and their respective upcoming seasons.