Welcome to your Tuesday daily fix of Florida Panthers history, where the hits won’t stop till we get to the top. For a peek behind the curtain, click here for details.
In yesterday’s article, we looked at D Lance Ward (134 games, four goals, seven assists), RW Jaroslav Bednar (65 games, six goals, 14 assists), G Jamie McLennan (2-4-2, .906, 3.01), and RW Michal Repik (72 games, nine goals, 11 assists).
Today, we look at two Russians, a goaltender and a defenseman, a Canadian center, and a homegrown defenseman. For more South Florida goodness, click to follow the link below.
140. Mikhail Shtalenkov
Shtalenkov was a 6’2″ goaltender from Moscow, backstopping for Moscow Dynamo for parts of six seasons. He was picked in the fifth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks with the 108th overall pick.
As a newcomer to North America, Shtalenkov joined the IHL Milwaukee Admirals, compiling a 26-14-5 record with two shutouts, a .897 save percentage and a 3.03 GAA in 1992-93.
Shtalenkov posted a 15-11-2 record with the IHL San Diego Gulls in 28 games in 1993-94. He was twice called up for NHL action with the Ducks, finishing at 3-4-1. He would spend the bulk of his career working for Disney, over five seasons finishing with a career 34-53-11 record, three shutouts, a .897 save percentage and a 3.14 GAA.
Shtalenkov was left unprotected in the 1998 expansion draft, where he was picked up by the Nashville Predators. Nashville promptly traded him to the Edmonton Oilers with Jim Dowd for Eric Fichaud, Drake Berehowsky and Greg de Vries. He went 12-17-3 for the Oilers in 1998-99 before getting traded again on March 11th to the Phoenix Coyotes for a fifth round pick.
Shtalenkov spent parts of two seasons with the Coyotes, going 8-8-3 in 19 games. Phoenix traded him to the Panthers on November 18th with a fourth round pick for Sean Burke and a fifth round pick.
With Florida, Shtalenkov went 8-4-2 with a .908 save percentage and a 2.31 GAA. He would go 4-0-1 through his last five games with the team, allowing eight goals on 128 shots faced (.938). He returned to play with Dynamo Moscow in 2000-01 for two seasons, retiring after the 2001-02 season.
All-Time Statline: One season, 15 games, 882 minutes, 8-4-2 record, 369 shots faced, 335 saves, 34 goals allowed, .908 save percentage, 2.31 GAA, 1.6 APS.
139. Dallas Eakins
Eakins was a 6’2″ defenseman from Dade City, Florida. The Washington Capitals picked him in the 10th round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 208th overall. He played four OHL seasons with the Peterborough Petes, ending in 1987-88, scoring 20 goals and 54 assists in 226 games.
After playing 1988-89 with the Baltimore Skipjacks (62 games, 10 assists), he spent four seasons with the AHL Moncton Hawks (272 games, 10 goals, 42 assists).
1992-93 would see Eakins finally make an NHL appearance, nearly eight years after getting drafted. He played in 14 games with the Winnepeg Jets, earning two assists and 38 penalty minutes. He signed a free agent contract with the Panthers before their inaugural 1993-94 season.
In 1993-94, Eakins spent most of the year with the AHL Cincinnati Cyclones (80 games, one goal, 18 assists). He made one appearance for the Panthers, in a loss to the Hartford Whalers in November.
1994-95 would see Eakins again spend a large portion of the season in Cincinnati (59 games, six goals, 12 assists). He would also play in 17 games with the Panthers, spending 35 minutes in the box with one assist.
Over the next two seasons, Eakins made NHL appearances with the St. Louis Blues (16 games, one assist, 34 PIM), the Jets (two games), the Phoenix Coyotes (four games, 10 PIM), and the New York Rangers, (three games, six PIM).
In 1997-98, Eakins again signed a free agent contract to play with the Kitties. He logged career highs with 23 games and 44 penalty minutes, finishing with just one assist. He later played with the Toronto Maple Leafs (18 games, two assists, 24 PIM), the New York Islanders (two games, one assist), and the Calgary Flames (20 games, one assist, 15 PIM). In his 120 career NHL games over 10 seasons he never scored a goal.
Gratton vs Dallas Eakins & Luke Richardson vs Peter Worrell (via pjstock20)
All-Time Statline: Three seasons, 41 games, zero goals, two assists, two points, plus-3 rating, 79 PIM, 1.6 APS.
138. Alexei Semenov
Semenov was a 6’6″ defenseman from Murmansk, Russia. The Edmonton Oilers gained his rights by choosing him in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 36th overall. In three OHL seasons with the Sudbury Wolves, he finished with 30 goals and 80 assists in 158 games.
In 2001-02, Semenov made his professional debut, playing the entire season with the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. He put up five goals and 11 assists in 78 contests. The Oilers gave him a shot the next season, and he spent parts of three seasons with the club. He scored four goals and 10 assists in 103 games. The Oilers traded him to Florida for a fifth round pick on November 19th, 2005.
Semenov finished up the season with the Panthers, scoring his only Florida goal (on 13 shots over the season) in a 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on April 13th. He also made an assist and finished with 21 PIM with an ATOI of 12:33 through 16 games.
Semenov played in 23 NHL games with the Panthers in 2006-07, collecting five assists and no goals on 23 shots. He averaged 12:22 of ice time per game, and ended the season with 28 PIM and a plus-9. He made two assists in a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 3rd.
During the 2007 offseason, Semenov signed a free agent contract with the San Jose Sharks. Over the next two seasons he played in 69 San Jose games, scoring two goal and 10 assists with a plus-5 and 93 PIM. He joined the KHL Moscow Dynamo in 2009-10 (34 games, one goal, three assists), later playing two seasons with St. Petersburg SKA (58 games, seven assists).
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 39 games, one goal, six assists, seven points, plus-8 rating, 49 PIM, 1.7 APS.
137. Gregory Campbell
Campbell was a 6′ center from London, Ontario. He was picked up in the third round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft with the 67th overall pick. In three OHL seasons (two with the Plymouth Whalers, one with the Kitchener Rangers), he totalled 42 goals with 81 assists in 185 games.
Campbell made his pro debut in 2003-04 with the San Antonio Rampage (76 games, 13 goals, 16 assists). He also made his first NHL appearance with the Panthers in October, earning a minus-1 rating in 23 shifts over two games.
When the 2004-05 season was cancelled, Campbell stayed with the Rampage through the season. He finished with 12 goals and 16 assists in 70 games with 113 PIM and a minus-17 rating.
In 2005-06 Campbell scored three goals and three assists through 11 games with the Panthers new AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. He also saw his first substantial time in the NHL, spending 64 games with the Panthers. He scored his first career goal in a 4-3 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on November 15th. He ended up averaging around eight and a half minutes per game for the Cats, lighting the lamp three times on 59 shots, and dishing out six assists with a minus-11 rating and 40 minutes in the box.
2006-07 would see Campbell stay with the Panthers NHL club through 79 games. On March 17th he earned two points for the first time in his career, with a goal and an assist in an 8-5 win over the New York Islanders. He finished the season at minus-10 with six goals on 103 shots, three assists, and 66 PIM. He was also playing progressively more in each game, averaging 10:34 TOI.
In 2007-08, Campbell played in a career high 81 games with the Panthers. He enjoyed the first two goal game of his career on October 24th, scoring the third and fourth goals in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He averaged 12:27 per night, scoring five goals on 113 shots with 13 assists, 72 PIM and a minus-12 rating.
Campbell continuted to improve in 2008-09. He had the first three point game of his career in a 4-0 win over the Lightning on November 12th with two goals and an assist. Later in the month, he scored six points in four games (three goals and three assists). In 77 Florida games he scored a career high 13 goals on 135 shots, also earning a career high 19 assists in 16:37 ATOI. He finished the season with an even rating for the first time, also spending 76 minutes in the box.
In 2009-10, Campbell played in 60 Panthers contests, scoring two goals on 84 shots, earning 15 assists and posting a minus-5 rating with 53 PIM. He was traded to the Boston Bruins (per request) along with Nathan Horton for Dennis Wideman, a first round pick (traded to the LA Kings, resulting in the acquisition of Nick Bjugstad), and a third round pick (Kyle Rau).
Soup Is On (01/13/10) (via theultimategoalcom)
Campbell has spent the last two seasons with the Bruins, scoring 21 goals and 24 assists in 158 regular season games, adding a goal and five assists in 32 Stanley Cup Playoff matches. He helped the Bruins win the 2011 Stanley Cup.
Campbell currently ranks 13th on Florida’s all-time list in games played with 363.
All-Time Statline: Six seasons, 363 games, 29 goals, 56 assists, 85 points, minus-39 rating, 312 PIM, 1.7 APS.
Thanks for reading today’s entry. As you can see, the Horton/Campbell for Wideman trade is not even close to time for an evaluation. We may end up winning that one yet. Please, leave comments below, and check back tomorrow, as we look in on a center from Washington D.C., a Russian right winger, a Saskatchewite defenseman and a left winger from Nova Scotia.