The Florida Panthers concluded the 2019 NHL Entry Draft be selecting forwards Henrik Rybinski in the fifth round (136th overall), Owen Lindmark in the fifth round (137th overall), Greg Meireles in the sixth round (168th overall) and Matthew Wedman in the seventh round (199th overall).
Rybinski, 17, appeared in 33 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), posting 35 points (7G/28A). He also appeared in 14 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers, recording five points (1G/4A) and notched 12 points (1G/11A) in nine games with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. The 6-foot, 176-pound native of Vancouver registered two assists in six postseason games with Seattle.
The Panthers sent its fifth round in 2020 to the Montreal Canadiens for the 136th pick.
Lindmark, 18, appeared in 56 games with the USA National Team Development Program, producing 25 points (11G/14A).
On the international stage, the 6-foot, 193-pound native of Enid, OK, earned a bronze medal with USA at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship where he owned the tournament’s best faceoff percentage (68.09).
He posted three points (2G/1A) in four games for USA at the 2019 Five Nations Tournament.
Lindmark is committed to the University of Wisconsin for the 2019-20 season.
Meireles, 20, led the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers with 97 points (36G/61A) in 68 games and served as the team’s captain. In the postseason, the 5-foot-11, 188-pound Ottawa native registered a goal and an assist in four games.
Wedman, 20, was the leading scorer for the Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) with 40 goals and 77 points in 66 games. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Edmonton registered six points (3G/3A) over six postseason games. He was named to the 2018-19 WHL West Second All-Star Team.
Dale Tallon had this to say after wrapping things up with the selection of Wedman.
“The 2019 Draft was an exciting one for the Florida Panthers organization. Over the last two days we have selected quality young players and added positional depth to our talented prospect pool. We are thrilled for these young men to join our group of prospects in South Florida next week for our development camp and look forward to their future with the Panthers.”