Panthers prospects having fun, learning a lot as development camp continues

The energy and excitement is palpable inside the Ice Den in Coral Springs as Florida Panthers 2023 Development Camp continues this week.

Wednesday's sessions saw the Panthers prospects doing a bit more skill drills after the first two days featured a lot skating.

It started with some one-on-one possession work and puck retrieval drills along the boards, which provided the players a chance to use their physicality.

It's an element that several of the players have mentioned throughout the week that they want to improve on.

The goaltenders got some work during a 2-on-1 flow drill and a 3-on-0 drill in which one player stayed low and fed the puck to one of the other two players, who remained in prime shooting positions, but the three remained in motion.

Additionally, players did some work on screens and deflections, with one drill in particular having the players moving from the sidewalls to the front of the net and having to tip the puck before actually coming to a stop.

This was also difficult for the defensemen shooting the puck as they had to time their shots to arrive just as the skater coming off the boards got to the net.

Expect the ramping up of puck and skill drills to continue as camp gets later in the week.

On Friday, the prospects will have the opportunity to take everything they've been taught this week and see if they can put it to use during an intra-squad scrimmage.

WHAT THEY SAID

Ludvig Jansson on his experience at last year's World Junior tournament: "It feels like it came at right time. I gained a lot of confidence from that and showed everyone that I can really play hockey at the highest level and perform."

Sandis Vilmanis on adjusting to North American hockey: "The rink is smaller, definitely a little bit tougher in small area plays and tougher in the stick plays, and a more physical game."

Kasper Puutio on his goals for the upcoming season in Liiga: "I think just getting a bigger role and trying to improve my overall game, and I think trying to play a full 60 games and stay in the lineup and be consistent. I think that'll help me in trying to become a leader there, so I think that'll be a great next step."

Owen Lindmark on his takeaways from camp so far: "Just how many good players there are from all over the world. You know, playing college hockey, you'll have a little mix of Canadians, Europeans, but it's just it's so fun to see. Just what they bring to the ice that differentiates themselves from, say, the college game."

Tyler Muszelik on enjoying development camp: "It's awesome. Especially being in Florida, and in our free time being able to go to the beach right there, too. You have people coming here for vacation and we get to play hockey here, so it's pretty special."

GROUP BREAKDOWN

Group A: Mackie Samoskevich, Dru Krebs, Marek Alscher, Ludvig Jansson, Josh Davies, Gracyn Sawchyn, Jake Wise, Mark Senden, Luke Coughlin, Ryan McAllister, Liam Arnsby, Owen Brady, Wilmer Skoog, Chandler Romeo, Sandis Vilmanis, Spencer Knight, Ludovic Waeber, Charlie Robertson

Group B: Jack Devine, Skyler Brind'Amour, Evan Nause, Kasper Puutio, Ben Poitras, Djibril Toure, Riese Gaber, Matteo Giampa, Owen Lindmark, Timofei Khoklachev, Jakub Kos, Elliot Ekmark, Josef Mysak, Kai Schwindt, Luis Lindner, Olof Glifford, Tyler Muszelik, Cooper Black

REMAINING CAMP SCHEDULE

Thursday – Group B 9:30 AM-10:30 AM, Group A 10:45 AM-11:45 AM

Friday – Group A vs. Group B Scrimmage, 10 AM-11 AM