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    Julian Gaudio
    Julian Gaudio
    Oct 27, 2025, 21:00
    Updated at: Oct 27, 2025, 21:00

    The Florida Panthers have loaned defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to the Charlotte Checkers. 

    The defenseman was recalled from the AHL on Oct. 12 when Dmitry Kulikov sustained his injury. Despite being up with the NHL club for two weeks, Bjornfot did not get into an NHL game as Uvis Balinskis has locked down Kulikov's role. 

    Last season, Bjornfot skated in 14 NHL games, failing to record a point while averaging 13:06 of ice time. 

    The Checkers are set to embark on a three-game road trip on Wednesday and will likely rely heavily on the 24-year-old defender with 160 games of AHL experience. 

    The Panthers play just two games this week, both of which are at home. This allows them to send Bjornfot back down to the minors to get some game action. 

    The Panthers should also be welcoming Donovan Sebrango, whom they claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators. He can now serve as the seventh defenseman. The Panthers may also be in a situation where they need to recall a forward. 

    Currently, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek are out long-term, but Jonah Gadjovich will be out for at least a week, and Brad Marchand will miss Tuesday's game for personal reasons.

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