The Florida Panthers will have four prospects, Linus Eriksson, Olof Glifford, Albert Wikman and Simon Zether, at this year’s World Junior Summer Showcase, which begins this afternoon in Plymouth, Michigan.
All four of Florida’s invitees, who recently attended development camp in Fort Lauderdale, will be playing for Team Sweden at the event, which serves as an evaluation camp for 2025 World Junior Championship roster selection.
Eriksson, 18, was Florida’s first selection (second round – 58th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s a high floor, low ceiling center with plenty of speed and a high-revving motor who produced three goals and 11 points in 29 games for Djurgårdens IF in HockeyAllsvenskan. Eriksson notched an additional 4 goals in 12 postseason games.
The 19-year-old Glifford, who was a fifth round selection (159th overall) in 2023, spent most of his time last season with HV71’s J20 squad. He appeared in 24 Nationell games and posted a 16-8 record, .905 save percentage and 2.94 GAA. He was loaned to HC Dalen in the third-tier hockey Hockeyettan, where he went 1-1 with a 3.50 GAA and .863 save percentage.
Wikman, a 19-year-old defenseman chosen in the fourth round (127th overall) of the 2023 Draft, spent most of his time in the Nationell, suiting up in 45 games for Färjestad’s J20 team. His numbers against his age group increased slightly from his draft season, as he scored three times and assisted on 17 goals to finish with 20 points. He did make a pair of appearances in the Swedish Hockey League and was loaned to HockeyAllsvenskan outfit Södertälje SK and played two second-level games, collecting an assist.
Zether, a center, was Florida’s fourth round pick (129th overall) in 2024. He appeared in 42 games with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League as an 18-year-old. The rangy Zether collected just four helpers playing at the top-level. He was much more effective against his peer group, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists in 18 games with Rögle’s junior squad.
Schedule (all times ET)
Sunday, July 28
USA White vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
USA Blue vs. Sweden, 4 p.m.
Monday, July 29
USA Blue vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
USA White vs. Sweden, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, July 30
Canada White vs. Canada Red, 7:30 p.m. (Windsor, Ontario)
Wednesday, July 31
USA vs. Finland, 4 p.m.
Canada vs. Sweden, 7:30 p.m. (Windsor, Ontario)
Friday, August 2
Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
Sweden vs. USA, 4 p.m.
Saturday, August 3
Sweden vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
USA vs. Canada, 4 p.m.