"Sometimes you don’t really think how big of a loss he really is. He’s a great puck-moving defenseman who can get you the puck in a lot of good areas to get shots off or get speed coming up the ice. You see his stats this year — he has a lot of assists. He’s helping that team tremendously.’’

- High praise for Florida blueliner Brian Campbell from ex-teammate Patrick Kane via Adam Jahns/Sun-Times; the Hawks have yet to fill the void left by Soup's departure.

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Setting the benchmark for highest-picked Panther in an All-Star draft (or more accurately, the first-ever Panther to be picked in an All-Star draft) our buddy Brian Campbell was selected by Team Chara in the 11th round. Not that this means anything in the real world, but Soupy was taken before Phoenix's Keith Yandle, Toronto's Dion Phaneuf, former Panther Dennis Wideman and Vancouver's Alexander Edler. While I was fully expecting Campbell to receive the dubious honor of being the last of the defensemen to be picked, keep in mind Campbell is narrowly holding on to second place in points by a defenseman with 35 and has genuinely rekindled his offensive game to deserve All-Star recognition. That said, there's no shame in being selected in the middle of the pack for defenseman in a weekend of completely absurd fan festivities. And for those wondering, Logan Couture will be driving home in the KesselMobile v.2 for being picked last overall.

Watch Campbell crush Team Alfredsson all whilst rocking the blue in the 2012 All-Star Game, 4pm on Sunday.

Draft Format * TV: NBC-SN & TSN * NHL.com Mock Draft

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If our boy somehow inexplicably slips to the 12th round or beyond, keep these numbers in mind...

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The Florida Panthers have acquired defensemen Sean Sullivan from the San Jose Sharks for forward Tim Kennedy. Kennedy was acquired by the Panthers last season, along with a third round pick (Logan Shaw) for Bryan McCabe. Kennedy played 27 games with the Cats, scoring two points (1G/1A) and played 18 games for the San Antonio Rampage, scoring nine points (3G/6A).

Sean Sullivan returns to San Antonio for the first time since 2010. Sullivan, a ninth round pick (272nd overall) for the Phoenix Coyotes, is the Rampage all-time leading defensemen in goals (21), assists (68) and points (89), as well as second in games played (183) for skaters. Sullivan has played zero NHL games, while playing a total of 288 AHL games (as well as 34 CHL games with the Arizona Sundogs in 2007). He is departing the AHL Worcester Sharks.

The Rampage's powerplay is currently 28th in the AHL (14.0%) and should be aided by Sullivan who had 14 power play points last season. As the eighth defensemen on the Rampage roster, he will replace Colby Robak, Tyson Strachan, or Nolan Yonkman, as one will be called up before Wednesday's night game to replace recently injured defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.

In three previous NHL All-Star Game appearances - twice as a starter - representing Buffalo (2007, '08) and Chicago (2009), defenseman Brian Campbell has 1 goal, 3 assists, 3 SOG & 1 GW assist (all scoring in last two games). Will it make a difference onstage tonight?

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Ups & Downs is a feature that looks at the individual performances of your Panthers over the past week.

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2011-12 Florida Panthers
22-15-11 (55 points), 2nd in Southeast Division, 7th in Eastern Conference, 14th in League
Goals For: 122 (23rd of 30), Goals Against: 136 (13th of 30)

Biggest Gain: Scott Clemmensen

Clemmensen doesn't get enough credit. Dispite only winning one game (he was 1-1-2 during the week), Clemmensen had a weekly save percentage of .930, playing 255 minutes (three of them shootouts). The sole reason the Panthers are still in the hunt for the division, let alone the playoffs, is because of Scott Clemmensen.

Biggest Loss: John Madden

Madden is still pointless in his seven games with the Panthers. This week he registered only one shot on goal in 70 minutes of ice time, the shot coming from the Panthers last game against Philadelphia. While Madden isn't the type of player that will light up the scoreboard, he's got to do more than just hit (five recorded hits this week) with that ice time.

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Rookie blueliner Erik Gudbranson paced all players with 5 hits Tuesday. A career-high 20:08 TOI (in 25 shifts) against the Flyers smashed his average of 14:37 in the month of January, a by-product of long-term injuries recently sustained by Ed Jovanovski and Dmitry Kulikov.

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While it wasn't exactly the homecoming we were all hoping for, the Florida Panthers would post a solid 65 minute effort but ultimately lose the shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers. While the final outcome certainly may sting like a loss, the Panthers simply have to put the point in the bank and expand upon the positives. In the end, the come from behind effort and resiliency to the Flyers offense speaks more about the team going forward than losing in a skills competition. We all know this, we've told ourselves this all season. Look at it this way, a stolen win in Winnipeg or a shootout loss in which the Panthers played well against a top 10 team; which is a more accurate representation of the Panthers that won earlier in the season? It's a missed opportunity, but the positives in this matchup are what the team will build on going forward past the All-Star break.

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