Panthers will look to be active on day two of 2023 NHL Draft
The first night of the 2023 NHL Draft was an uneventful one for the Florida Panthers, at least on the surface.
General Manager Bill Zito and his front office staff sat at their table in the back row of the Bridgestone Arena floor during the first round - on their phones, shuffling through notes or chatting with colleagues at other tables – but ultimately nothing materialized for the Panthers.
The team without a first-round pick would have to wait until day two before anything significant happens.
“it’s tough without a pick, but you never know,” Zito said Wednesday night after round one. “Certainly, we investigated a few different things, but it’s okay.
“Sometimes things will work out where you didn't necessarily envision what other people's needs might be, so you can maybe get some things done, but not today.”
The Panthers will enter day two of the draft with five selections to make, starting with No. 63 in the second round.
Zito acknowledged a desire to acquire more draft picks, which makes perfect sense as Florida’s prospect pool is a little on the shallow side.
“We certainly need to restock, and if we can get more (picks), we’ll certainly try,” he said. “We've got one pick in the second round, and to the extent if we can add picks, we definitely will. You don't really know until it presents itself, but we’ll be aggressive.”
Round one ended with every team making whatever selections they had when the night began. Zero trades.
Bo-ring.
While there are always no shortage of rumors heading into a draft, nothing materialized during the first round.
THN asked Zito as the night evolved if he found it harder to make moves on Wednesday.
“I don't know if harder is the right word to use,” he said. “I think, for the most part, sometimes it's a fit or it isn't. A draft like this, sometimes it just has to be a fit.”
“I think a lot of people were excited to pick tonight,” he added.
Looking ahead, Florida’s four other selections are No. 127 in the fourth round, No. 159 in the fifth round, No. 191 in round six and No. 198 in the seventh round.
There may be specific players on the Panthers draft board that they’d like to see available, but Zito said the team won’t necessarily be valuing any particular position on top of overall talent.
“(We’ll take) the best player available, and then we'll react from there,” Zito said.