Kyle Okposo is Ready to Pick Up the Pace for the Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, FLA - At 36 years old, right winger Kyle Okposo is the oldest member of the Florida Panthers. And yet, this is only his fourth sojourn into the NHL playoffs ever. For the first nine seasons of his career, he toiled for serviceable New York Islanders teams, one of which got to the second round of the post-season. In the summer of 2016, he signed a long-term deal in free agency with the Buffalo Sabres, where he would eventually become captain. But at no point during that run did the Sabres make the playoffs.

Now in the Stanley Cup final with the Florida Panthers after a trade at the deadline, Okposo is heartened by the fact his Cats teammates want this win for him just as much as they want it for themselves. And during his short time in Sunrise, he has also seen what a winning culture looks like. For the affable veteran, experience has taught him a lot about the sport.

"I've worn a lot of different hats," Okposo said. "I've been a first-line guy, a first power play guy, penalty-kill guy and I've been a fourth-line guy or healthy scratch. I've done a lot so I have an appreciation for everything a team requires in order to win: You all have to be a unit and that's why this sport is the best in the world. If you don't have a good quarterback in football, you can't win. In basketball, you have three or four players who can affect the game so much because they're on the court all the time. In baseball, if you don't have a good pitcher, you can't win. But in hockey you have to have the best team and that's so important. It's something I've really noticed over the years as my role has revolved."

While the Panthers do have star power in the form of Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky among others, part of the reason they've been so good in the playoffs the past two years is how they function as a five-man unit every shift. The Cats also bring high expectations to the ice, something Okposo has appreciated as he learns to adjust to said standard.

"My kids were watching old highlights of me on the Islanders (yesterday morning)," he said. "I came into the room and thought 'Gosh, I was not a good skater.' The pace that is expected every day - it's something I work on. You have to move faster and get to pucks quicker. I try to get better for the group, the guys. It's been very demanding, but extremely rewarding as well."

The veteran power forward is also happy to be on the same team as some of the Panthers he had previously done battle with over the years in the Eastern Conference, such as Tkachuk.

"We had our battles before," Okposo said. "Then you meet him and he's such a good guy, such a competitor. He'll do anything to win so he's a guy you want on your team all the time. He has that old-school mentality you don't see much anymore; he's a bit of a throwback to when I first got into the league. Brendan Witt, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight - those types of guys are who he reminds me of."

Similarly, Okposo has a visceral appreciation of foe-turned-friend Aaron Ekblad, the big defenseman.

"I loved playing against him, we went at it pretty good," Okposo said. "We met five years ago at (skills coach) Darryl Belfry's camp in Florida and after that you're still playing hard against each other, but you might not try to slash each other in the face anymore. He's so long and such a smart player that he's very difficult to get inside of. You don't always notice him, but a lot of times those are the best defensemen because they don't make mistakes, they keep the play moving and they're not flashy, they just do the right things."

If the Panthers continue to do the right things against the Edmonton Oilers, they'll have their first-ever Stanley Cup soon.