It felt a little bit like the first day of school on Wednesday.
The Florida Panthers held their annual Media Day at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, the first time in months that the team, managers and media were all under the same roof.
In addition to meeting with the media and doing interviews with local radio and TV rightsholders, the Panthers also were heading to different areas of the facility, filming promotional elements that will be used on television and inside the area.
Several Panthers players and General Manager Bill Zito fielded questions from a collection of South Florida journalists at the practice facility.
Below you’ll find some of the best quotes from Media Day:
Bill Zito on the message or feeling around the team:
“It's appreciation, thanks, humility. We're so appreciative for everything we've been able to experience over the last few years, and we have to get better. There's so many things that we can improve on. As soon as we start saying, ‘Well, we won (the Stanley Cup) a couple times,’ and are pounding our chest…we're not pounding our chest at all. It's a new season. It's day one, and this is its own distinct and unique journey. So for us, talking to Paul (Maurice) and was kind of like, yeah, we were really blessed, and we had success, and we worked hard, but there's a humility that comes with that, with the understanding that we could not make the playoffs. I mean, it's so hard to win in this league, but if you can balance the humility with the confidence that you have, because you did do some things, right? Well, those two things, humility and confidence is grace, and then once you have the grace, now you can move forward as a team and too, with our fans and our community. I really believe this – you don't have to agree with me – but those parades were special. When you get everybody together, and the fans felt a part of it, we felt a part of it. I don't think that we're a feat. I don't think we're better than we are. We're humble and hungry, and that's who we are.”
Sergei Bobrovsky on giving himself a mental reset during the offseason:
“I had a good summer. I was focused on the mental side of it. My goal was to clean everything up, you know, to clear everything up and get ready for the season, and especially mentally, to be excited, to be fresh and not thinking much about hockey. I thought I did a good job with it. I felt like the summer was so long for me, and I'm so excited to be back. I'm so excited to see everybody, the guys, the coaches. I'm so excited to be here in this facility, locker room, everything. I'm hungry and happy and appreciative for the situation that’s in front of us.”
Aaron Ekblad on whether or not the team will openly discuss going for a three-peat:
“We're always going to talk about it. I felt like we talked about it, whether it was in the media or in the room, quite often – what we we're talking about last year and trying to (win the Stanley Cup) again – so I don't think there's any reason to shy away from it. That's our goal, and we're going to fight for that goal every day. I think it's better to talk about it than be anxious and hiding. That's what we want to do, so we're going to go get it.”
Sam Bennett on whether he, Ekblad and Marchand discussed trying to all re-sign with Florida together:
“Yeah, I mean, we talked about it. Obviously, all of our goals was to stay with Florida and be here for as long as we could, but we didn't know how it was going to get done. We never talked numbers or anything like that, but we talked about, ‘Hey, how incredible would it be if all three of us got to say?’ We didn't know it was possible. I'm still like, just in awe that it got done, but, yeah, it's pretty amazing that we all got to come back here. I think we all realize how special this group is, and we know that we have the chance to do something special here for quite a while. Everyone wants to be a part of that, and you can just tell by the willingness for everyone to try and stay here.”
Brad Marchand on re-signing with the Panthers, and Zito saying that retaining all three UFAs (Marchand, Ekblad, Bennett) was all due to the players and not himself:
“It completely comes at the hand of Bill (Zito) and the ownership, so it's nice of him to say that, but it's not true. He's the one that made it happen and ownership is one that made it all happen, the way they were able to make it all work with everyone coming back was pretty impressive. I honestly didn't think there was a chance of it happening. I did not expect to be a Panther this year. If I’m being completely honest, I just didn't think that it could work with everybody. So the fact that they were able to make it work, when Bill (Zito) called and told me that he wanted to make it work, I was ecstatic. I wanted to be part of this group, and I loved every second of being here. That's why I got traded. But I'm a realistic person, and when I looked at it, and I looked at the cap position and everything, I just didn't think it was possible. But I'm extremely happy that, not only I was able to be here, but the guys that were all able to remain here. Obviously, we lost (Nate Schmidt) and (Vitek Vanecek) and a couple guys, but (Bennett) and (Ekblad) were two guys that we got close with on the team, so I was thrilled that they were coming back. I think one of the things when you look at the group is that we're going to be together for a long time, and it feels incredible as a player to know that you're going to be part of a group that's going to be competing every year to play for a Stanley Cup. To win, you need so many different things to go right and you need all the right calls, the bounces, guys staying healthy, guys producing at the right times, so it's not a guarantee we're going to win every year, but we will be in contending talks every season, which is pretty remarkable.”
Sasha Barkov on Mackie Samoskevich taking the next step in his career this season:
“It's been a lot of fun watching him develop, since his day one in the organization. Even right now, in our skates, I don't know how, but he got faster, he got stronger. Obviously, he has the skill, he has the shot, he has the playmaking ability and that kind of stuff, but physically, he looks outstanding out there. I'm really excited to watch him…must be the number.”
(Samoskevich is switching from No. 25 to No. 11 this season)
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