Florida’s championship depth relies on this reliable Finnish duo, whose elite two-way play and sneaky offensive upside position them to shatter career benchmarks in the coming season.
One of the biggest reasons the Florida Panthers are expected to resume competing for the Stanley Cup is their depth.
Across the board, Florida’s roster is full of extremely gifted players, many of whom could easily find themselves playing more prominent roles on other teams but choose to remain with the Panthers and help create one of the most physical, formidable squads the league has seen in quite a while.
A prime example to that are the men who have been two-thirds of Florida’s third line for basically the duration or their time as one of the top teams in the conference.
We’re talking of course about Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.
Believe it or not, the upcoming season will be Lousty’s seventh with the Panthers and Lundy’s sixth.
Lundell was Florida’s first-round selection, 12th overall, at the 2020 NHL Draft while Luostarinen was acquired a few months prior at the 2020 Trade Deadline, when he was part of the deal that saw Vincent Trocheck sent the Carolina Hurricanes.
In the time since, both of the young Finns have grown into an incredibly reliable two-way players with sneaky offensive capabilities that often get overshadowed by their teammates.
For both Lunell and Luostarinen, it’s been a slow build toward a potential breakout season.
Lundell has yet to crack 20 goals or 50 points, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him break through either benchmark this season.
Last year, while only playing in 64 games, Lundell matched a career high with 18 goals and was one point shy of his career high of 45, which he set the season before when he played in 79 games.
He will turn 25 less than a week after Opening Night and could be Florida’s biggest dark horse for a massive breakout.
As for Luostarinen, he’s put up more modest numbers than Lundell but has shown similar hockey IQ and offensive upside when given the opportunity.
Last season was Lousty’s second-most-productive since joining the Panthers, with 11 goals and 33 points in 73 games.
Considering he’ll likely be skating with Lundell and Brad Marchand when the season arrives, there will ample opportunity for Eetu to add to his offensive output while still providing the steady, shutdown defensive play that he’s become well known for.
While both of the Finnish forwards play all situations, Lundell is likely to receive more time on Florida’s second power play unit than Luostarinen.
This is due to the Panthers’ ridiculous depth that we mentioned earlier in the story.
It will be interesting to see how the season plays out for Lundy and Lousty, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see either, or both, put up career numbers this season.
Stay tuned.
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Photo caption: Dec 21, 2022; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center EetuLuostarinen(27) celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils with center AntonLundell(15) during the second period at FLA Live Arena. (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
