After hitting the OHL for a defenseman in round two, the Florida Panthers took another blue liner, this time from the WHL, when they selected John Ludvig in the third round (69th overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Ludvig is a 6’1” 196 lbs blue liner who played in 58 games with the Portland Winterhawks in his second WHL season. He scored 5 goals and 13 assists and finished the campaign with a +38 rating and 77 PIM.
In his first season with Portland, Ludvig saw action in 51 games, some at forward, and scored twice and added 5 assists with a +11 rating.
Passed over in last year’s draft, this pick seems to be something of reach as Ludvig was projected to go much lower (ranked #128 NA by Central Scouting), so the Panthers must see something in him they like and think they can develop in the long term.