The Florida Panthers gambled their prospect pool by trading away first-round picks for short-term success. Tony Ferrari has the in-depth rundown on the Panthers' prospects.

Ahead of the final weekend of July, the Florida Panthers are the next team up in the 2023-24 NHL Prospect Overview series.

In this series, Tony Ferrari digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL. Note that a player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises unless mentioned otherwise.

Introduction

The Florida Panthers went to the Stanley Cup final after barely making the playoffs, and they seem poised to have a rocky start with multiple injuries leaking into the start of next season. That would leave the door open for some prospects to try to establish a role with the squad early in the year.

The underwhelming prospect pool had a decent injection of talent at the 2023 NHL draft, but they still have a fairly bleak outlook, especially with no first-round pick for a couple more years. They have Grigori Denisenko and Aleksi Heponiemi, who are high-end skill players and could take a step into the NHL. But at 23 and 24 years old, respectively, they're nearing the end of their run as prospects, and they must step up sooner than later.

Mackie Samoskevich is the team's most impressive prospect, showing an advanced understanding of time and space on the ice as a playmaker. Samoskevich identifies passing lanes that other players wouldn’t dream of using, finding teammates through layers of defenders. After an excellent season at Michigan as a sophomore, he signed his entry-level contract and joined the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL. He could be one of the prospects vying for a spot if injuries affect the forward group heading into the start of the season.

Justin Sourdif has potential as a bottom-six energy player who can bring some scoring touch when the depth forwards are on the ice. He plays with some feistiness, challenging defenders when he has the puck and engaging opponents when he doesn’t. After an adjustment period to the AHL to start last season, he started to really hit his stride in the second half of the year, getting particularly hot right after Christmas. He has work to do, but he’s one of the few bright spots in their system.

On the back end, things look equally as inconsistent. Mike Benning was nearly a point-per-game defender with the University of Denver the last two years. Now that he’s signed his entry-level contract, the 21-year-old right-shot blueliner will look to make his mark in the AHL. He’s an undersized puck-mover who skates well, but his defensive game and lack of physicality could prevent him from playing more than a specific role at the NHL level. He must take a step defensively this year in the AHL to challenge for an NHL gig later.

Evan Nause has plenty of tools, allowing him to be an effective defender at both ends of the ice. He doesn’t panic when retrieving a puck and dealing with a forecheck, quickly evading the pressure. His offensive game is predicated on moving the puck to the higher-skilled forwards and allowing them to do their thing, which can lead to some inconsistent point totals.

The Panthers could have Spencer Knight returning to the team this year. While he is certainly viewed as the goaltender of the future, the Panthers have a couple of intriguing netminders. Mack Guzda is a big netminder who played his rookie season in the AHL to mixed results after a few years of OHL success. Kirill Gerasimyuk has been excellent in Russian junior hockey, playing a calm, cool, and collected game. His timeline is still a few years out, though.

2023 NHL Draft Class

Round 2, 63rd overall - Gracyn Sawchyn, RW, Seattle (WHL)

Round 4, 127th overall - Albert Wikman, LD, Farjestad (Sweden Jr.)

Round 5, 159th overall - Olof Glifford, G, HV71 (Sweden Jr.)

Round 6, 191st overall - Luke Coughlin, LD, Rimouski (QMJHL)

Round 7, 198th overall - Stepan Zvyagin, LW, Minsk (KHL)

With their first-round pick traded away at the 2022 trade deadline, the Panthers' first pick was at the tail end of the second round. Gracyn Sawchyn was their choice at 63rd overall, looking to capitalize on a player who showed so much in a limited role for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Sawchyn displays speed and skill packaged in a mature game. He understands the nuances of advancing play without resorting to the perimeter and trying to outskill his way out of trouble. Sawchyn has the potential to be the steal of the second round and may assert himself as the Panthers’ top prospect.

In the fourth round, Florida took Albert Wikman, a left-shot defender from Sweden who plays a very intelligent defensive game built upon his skating ability. He gaps into the neutral zone well, stays tight to attackers, and guides them to the outside. Wikman isn’t the cleanest puck-mover, but he has sometimes shown flashes of crisp passing ability.

The Panthers took a chance on Olof Glifford in the fifth round based primarily on physical tools and excellent play at the J18 level in Swedish junior hockey. He stands 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds, which is an excellent frame to work with, and he had a .929 save percentage at the J18 level. His J20 tape looked very good as he was crisp and made himself big, earning a .949 save percentage in three games. It’s a swing on a goalie at a lower level, but it could pay off.

Sixth-round pick Luke Coughlin was injured to start the year, but he did showcase his game in a decent sample size of 46 contests between the regular season and playoffs. He never seemed to get back to full force, though. Despite flashes, his game wasn’t where it was expected to be. That could be a blessing in disguise for the Panthers, who were able to nab the fluid defender at 191st overall.

Strengths

When you’ve been as aggressive as Florida has when trading picks and prospects away, your chest is usually left pretty empty. That is the case with Florida, but they do have some very interesting defenders. They may not have top-pair upside, but they could be role players lower in the lineup. Nause is a defensive stopper who quickly turns play around. Benning is a creative attacker who can use his skill in open ice. Kasper Puutio is a shutdown man who learned to insert himself into plays early in the defensive end to disrupt oncoming attackers. Vladislav Lukashevich does some excellent work on the breakout, feeding his forwards up ice and in stride. The Panthers’ pipeline may not be full of high-impact players, but they have some potential contributors.

Weaknesses

Simply put, the Panthers don’t have a center of consequence that projects to play down the middle for the next few years. Anton Lundell is young, and while no longer a true prospect, he certainly eases the rush to add an impact center to the prospect pool. It will be interesting to see how Florida handles the position moving forward.

Next Man Up: Mackie Samoskevich, RW

This is a hard one to nail down. It could be the year where one of Heponiemi or Denisenko finally figure it out and stick at the NHL level. They both have the skill and talent for it, but they just need to play within the Panthers' system to make it work. Samoskevich, on the other hand, is younger, equally or more skilled, and plays a bit more of a pro style despite needing quite a bit of refinement. The Panthers will need someone to step up offensively, and Samoskevich could be the guy.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Grigori Denisenko, Sandis Vilmanis

C: Liam Arnsby, Elliot Ekmark

RW: Aleksi Heponiemi, Gracyn Sawchyn, Mackie Samoskevich, Justin Sourdif, Jack Devine

LD: Evan Nause, Max Gildon, Vladislav Lukashevich, Marek Alscher, Albert Wikman

RD: Mike Benning, Kasper Puutio, Ludvig Jansson

G: Mack Guzda, Kirill Gerasimyuk, Tyler Muszelik

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited and Future Watch print editions of The Hockey News.