Samoskevich, Sawchyn, Schwindt, Devine among goal scorers Friday at the Ice Den
Story by THN Florida contributor Alex Baumgartner
The final day of Florida Panthers Development Camp came to an end on Friday morning with a red vs. white intrasquad scrimmage.
Fans filled the stands of the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs to watch the prospects take the ice in game action.
To evaluate how the players adapted to different situations, the game was not played entirely at 5-on-5, rather switching between different even-strength scenario’s.
The two sides started off playing 4-on-4 before spending the last five minutes of the first period at 3-on-3.
Eighteen-year-old goaltender Olof Glifford finished the first half with a 4-0 shutout for the red team as the two sides went to the locker room for the break.
The four goalies who split ice time Friday were Glifford, Tyler Muszelik, Cooper Black and Charlie Robertson.
Spencer Knight and Ludovic Waeber - who both have multiple years of professional experience - didn't dress for the scrimmage.
In the second and final period, the game started at 5-on-5 before once again finishing with 3-on-3 action.
After the final buzzer went, the fans were treated to a post game shootout.
The red team, led by the likes of Mackie Samoskevich and Gracyn Sawchyn took down Jack Devine and Evan Nause’s white team 6-3.
Florida’s 2021 first-round pick Mackie Samoskevich was one of the standouts on the ice.
While finishing the scrimmage with a goal on the scoresheet, the noticeable calmness, confidence and skill on the ice seemed to be a step above the rest of the pack.
The 20-year-old played seven games in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers before joining the Panthers for their playoff run as a taxi squad member.
Samoskevich said at the beginning of development camp that his goal is to “play down here” in Florida. From what he showed this week, his goal may not be far-fetched when training camp rolls around in September.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Samoskevich said when asked about training camp. “I think it’ll be good to come down here early and meet some people, start some connections.”
Like Samoskevich, Jack Devine is another college hockey product who shined bright Friday and over the course of the week.
The 5-foot-11 forward also scored a goal in both the scrimmage and the shootout.
Devine, 19, won’t be at Panthers training camp as he is returning to the University of Denver for his junior season.
Florida’s 2022 seventh-round pick said being around the other guys was one of the best parts of camp.
“I think it was just a great group of guys, just hanging out with the guys whether it was dinner, the (Blink 182) concert,” Devine said. “I really thought it was a special group and you could kind of tell every guy was a good guy here.”
Many of the players reiterated throughout the week how much fun they had being together, specifically off the ice.
While Development Camp was entertaining for the fans in attendance, the scrimmage’s final score or the on-ice drills weren’t the goal of this week's camp for the organization.
“The camp’s not about the on-ice or the scrimmage,” Panthers Director of Player Personnel Bryan McCabe said. “It’s a learning process for these kids, and just trying to help them adapt to being a pro.”
McCabe, who has over 1100 NHL games to his name, said this is the best week of the year for himself and the rest of the development staff, as they get to spend “quality time” with the prospects.
“We throw a lot of information at them this week... it's a process, but the most important thing this week is having the guys get to know each other, building those relationships that all good teams have, because these are the guys that are going to help us down the road,” McCabe said.
With development camp now in the books, many of these players will be looking forward to rookie camp and for a select few, an invite to Panthers Training Camp.
Friday’s goal scorers:
Team Red: Wilmer Skoog, Gracyn Sawchyn, Sandis Vilmanis, Liam Arnsby, Mackie Samoskevich, Jake Wise
Team White: Kai Schwindt, Jack Devine, Owen Lindmark
Follow Alex on Twitter @ABaumgartner91