Prior to becoming Stanley Cup Champions, many of the Florida Panthers players and their head coach had successful OHL careers.
Last night the Florida Panthers became Stanley Cup Champions after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game series. Eight of their players were OHL stars prior to becoming Stanley Cup Champions, and here they are:
Sam Bennett - C, Kingston Frontenacs
9th overall selection in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Bennett spent 3 seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs and recorded 65 goals and 155 points in 128 games. He was an incredible playoff performer for the Frontenacs scoring 15 points in 15 games.
He recorded 20 goals and 41 points in 69 games for the Florida Panthers this season. In the playoffs he scored 7 goals and 14 points on the road to the Cup.
Nick Cousins - C, Soo Greyhound
21st overall selection in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection
Cousins played four seasons with the Greyhounds and scored 102 goals while adding 189 assists for 291 points in 264 games. He developed into a feisty forward known for throwing his weight around all over the ice.
This season Cousins scored 7 goals and 15 points in 69 games for the Florida Panthers. He had one assist in 12 playoff games.
Jonah Gadjovich - LW, Owen Sound Attack
39th overall selection 2014 OHL Priority Selection
Gadjovich scored 89 goals and a total of 155 points in 228 games played for Owen Sound. During his tenure with the Attack Gadjovich was named a second-team all-star during his final OHL season.
This season, he recorded 2 goals and 4 points for the Panthers in 39 games played.
Steven Lorentz - C, Peterborough Petes
226th overall selection in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Lorentz, a 12th round pick ended up playing four seasons for Peterborough scoring 75 goals and 164 points in 247 games. Year after year Lorentz improved and in his final season he recorded 16 points in 12 playoff games.
As a member of the Panthers this season, Lorentz scored 1 goal and had 3 points in 38 regular season games. True to his roots as a playoff performer in juniors Lorentz equaled his regular season point total in 12 playoff games.
Matthew Tkachuk - LW, London Knights
64th overall selection in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Tkachuk played one season for the London Knights and tore the league apart scoring 30 goals and 77 assists in only 57 games. That's an average of 1.87 points per game. In 18 playoff games that season he scored 20 goals and 20 assists for 40 points. He led the Knights to the J. Ross Robertson Cup and the Memorial Cup.
In 80 games played for the Panthers this season Tkachuk scored 26 goals and 88 points. He had 6 goals and 16 assists in 22 playoff games.
Carter Verhaeghe - LW, Niagara Ice Dogs
38th overall selection in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection
Verhaghe played four seasons for Niagara. During that time, he scored 83 goals and recorded 224 points in 262 games played. During his fourth season in the OHL, Verhaeghe captained the Ice Dogs and scored 14 points in 11 playoff games.
This season, Verhaghe had a break out campaign scoring 34 goals and 38 assists for 72 points in 76 games. Verhaeghe was an excellent playoff performer for the Panthers recording nearly a point a game. He notably scored the first goal in the game seven victory that won the Panthers the Stanley Cup.
Aaron Ekblad - D, Barrie Colts
1st overall selection in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection
Ekblad played three seasons for the Barie Colts and scored 40 goals and a total of 116 points in 175 games played. During his rookie season Ekblad was named OHL rookie of the year and won the OHL Most Outstanding defenseman the following season. In his final season, he captained the Colts.
This year, he scored 4 goals and recorded 18 points in 51 games. He played huge minutes for the Panthers during the playoffs averaging more than 22 minutes a night.
Anthony Stolarz - G, London Knights
Free agent addition 2012 season.
Stolarz played 2 seasons for the London Knights after signing with the team during the 2012-13 season. In 55 games played he had a 2.44 goals against average, and a .924 save percentage. He backstopped the team during their 2013 J. Ross Robertson Cup win with very impressive playoff stats. He had a 2.53 goals against average and a .923 save percentage in 18 games played.
This year, Stolarz played in 27 games for the Florida Panthers and had a 16-7-2 record. He had a 2.03 goals against average and a .925 save percentage during the season.
Paul Maurice - Coach, Windsor Spitfires, Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, Detroit Jr. Redwings
Maurice coached in the OHL for nine consecutive seasons prior to moving up to the NHL. He coached the Windsor Spitfires, Detroit Compuware Ambassadors and the Detroit Jr. Red Wings. He won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in the 1987-88, as the assistant coach of the Windsor Compuware Spitfires, and in 1994-95 as the Head Coach of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings.
The season, he led the panthers to a 52-24-6 record which was good for a third place finish in the Eastern Conference.
Congratulations to the Florida Panthers on becoming the 2023-24 Stanley Cup Champions after a great playoff run, and an exciting seven-game series against the Edmonton Oilers.