The Florida Panthers will begin defense of its first Stanley Cup championship in earnest today when they open training camp at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale.
The 54-man training camp roster consists of 31 forwards, 16 defensemen and seven goaltenders. Expect a cut down after Sunday’s preseason doubleheader against the Nashville Predators.
Forwards: Sam Bennett (9), A.J. Greer (10), Jonah Gadjovich (12), Sam Reinhart (13), Anton Lundell (15), Aleksander Barkov (16), Evan Rodrigues (17), Matthew Tkachuk (19), Zac Dalpe (22), Carter Verhaeghe (23), Justin Sourdif (24), Mackie Samoskevich (25), Eetu Luostarinen (27), Wilmer Skoog (32), Patrick Giles (36), MacKenzie Entwistle (44), Josh Davies (56), Gracyn Sawchyn (59), Matt Luff (64), Will Lockwood (67), Jesper Boqvist (70), John Leonard (71), Ben Steeves (73), Rasmus Asplund (74), Aidan McDonough (75), Ryan McAllister (76), Oliver Okuliar (83), Hunter St. Martin (85), Tomas Nosek (92), Sandis Vilmanis (95), Kai Schwindt (97)
Defensemen: Tobias Bjornfot (2), Matt Kiersted (3), Aaron Ekblad (5), Dmitry Kulikov (7), Jaycob Megna (8), Michael Benning (20), Uvis Balinskis (26), Adam Boqvist (34), Gustav Forsling (42), Zachary Uens (46), Marek Alscher (51), Evan Nause (52), Nathan Staios (61), Niko Mikkola (77), Nate Schmidt (88), Mikulas Hovorka (6)
Goalies: Mack Guzda (29), Spencer Knight (30), Cooper Black (31), Evan Cormier (33), Ken Appleby (35), Chris Driedger (60), Sergei Bobrovsky (72)
Prospect stuff
Jakub Kos, Florida fifth-round selection in 2021, scored a shorthanded goal with 3:36 remaining in Kometa Brno’s 2-1 season-opening loss to Bílí Tygři Liberec in action from the Czech Extraliga. In addition to his shorty, which came on his only shot on goal, Kos logged 10:01 of ice time, was credited with one hit and took a tripping minor.
Goaltender Olof Glifford (159th overall in 2023) was lit up in HV71’s 7-3 loss to Frölunda HC in a game from Sweden’s J20 Nationell. The 19-year-old Glifford stopped 37 shots, but allowed six goals to fall to 2-3 on the season.