Welcome to another week of the LBC All-Time Florida Panthers Roster Countdown. For the full explanation, click here for details.
On Friday, we looked at past and present Panthers G Jacob Markstrom (2-5-1, .919 save percentage, 2.70 GAA), C Kirk Muller (162 games, 13 goals, 34 assists), D Magnus Johansson (27 games, zero goals, 10 assists), and LW Cam Stewart (65 games, nine goals, seven assists).
In today’s entry, we look at two Czech right wingers, and two Canadians, a goaltender and a defenseman.
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144. Lance Ward
Ward was a 6’3″ defenseman from Lloydminster, Alberta. He was initially drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft with the 10th overall pick out of the WHL. In four seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, he picked up a total of 17 goals and 72 assists with 618 penalty minutes in 241 games. He never signed with the Devils, reentering the 1998 draft and getting picked up in the third round by the Panthers, 63rd overall.
Ward made his professional debut in 1998-99, between the AHL New Haven Beast (43 games, two goals, five assists), the ECHL Miami Matadors (six games, one goal), and the IHL Fort Wayne Komets (13 games, two assists).
In 1999-00, Ward spent the entire season just one level below the NHL, spending 80 games with the AHL Louisville Panthers. He earned 190 penalty minutes while scoring four goals and 16 assists.
2000-01 would see Ward spend 35 games with Louisville, scoring three goals and two assists with 78 penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut with Florida on November 15th, ultimately spending 30 games with the Panthers. He averaged almost 16 minutes of time on ice per game, earning two assists and 45 penalty minutes.
Ward stayed with the Panthers through the 2001-02 season, scoring his first NHL goal on December 17th in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. In 14:31 ATOI through 68 games he earned four assists and spent 131 minutes in the box.
PJ Stock vs Lance Ward (via igotregistered)
2002-03 would see Ward play 36 games with the Panthers, scoring a career high three goals with an assist and 78 penalty minutes. On November 16th, he earned his only career two point game with a goal and an assist in a 7-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. He was averaging just over nine minutes on ice per game when Florida traded him to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on January 30th with Sandis Ozolinsh for Pavel Trnka, Matt Cullen, and a fourth round choice.
Ward spent parts of the next two seasons with the Ducks, playing 75 games and making five assists. After two minor league seasons (and a year off in 2004-05), he went overseas, and has played four of the last five seasons with HV71 Jonkoping in the Swedish Elite League.
All-Time Statline: Three seasons, 134 games, four goals, seven assists, 11 points, minus-27 rating, 254 PIM, 1.5 APS.
143. Jaroslav Bednar
Bednar was a 5’10” right winger from Prague of the Czech Republic. He scored 32 goals and 28 assists in 56 games with HIFK Helsinki when the 2001 NHL Entry Draft rolled around. The Los Angeles Kings selected him in the second round, 51st overall.
Bednar joined the Los Angeles Kings in 2001-02, splitting the season between the AHL Manchester Monarchs (48 games, 16 goals, 21 assists) and at the NHL level (22 games, four goals, two assists).
In 2002-03, Bednar started the season on the Kings NHL roster, through 15 games earning nine assists with a plus-3 rating. The Kings traded him to Florida with Andrea Lilja for Dmitry Yushkevich and a fifth round pick on November 26th. In his first Panthers game he tabbed two assists in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. He scored his first goal in the Panthers next game, a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
Bednar finished out the season with the Panthers, scoring five goals and 13 assists in 52 games. In 2003-04 he played in 13 games with Florida, scoring a goal and an assist. He signed a free agent contract with Avangard Omsk in Russia on December 11th.
Bednar played two seasons with Avangard (82 games, 22 goals, 21 assists), later playing in the Czech league with HC Slavia Praha (four seasons, 190 games, 95 games, 98 assists), and the KHL team Torpedo Nizhny Novogorod (53 games, 14 goals, 20 assists).
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 65 games, six goals, 14 assists, 20 points, even rating, 18 PIM, 1.5 APS
142. Jamie McLennan
McLennan was a 6′ goaltender from Edmonton. He was selected by the New York Islanders in the third round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft with the 48th overall pick. He made his NHL debut two seasons later, splitting the year between the IHL Salt Lake Golden Eagles (8-12-2, 3.64 GAA) and the Islanders (8-7-6, .905, 3.22).
McLennan spent a total of three seasons as the Islanders number two goaltender, racking up a 17-27-9 record (.890, 3.22). He also played three seasons with the St. Louis Blues (38-27-8, .898, 2.21), one season with the expansion Minnesota Wild (5-23-9, .905, 2.64 GAA), parts of two seasons with the Calgary Flames (17-25-8, .900, 2.73), and four games with the the New York Rangers (1-3-0, .876, 2.95). He signed on to play with Florida on July 2nd, 2004, just before the 2004-05 season was cancelled.
When the NHL resumed play in 2005-06, McLennan joined Florida to back up Roberto Luongo in goal. He appeared in 17 games, posting a 2-4-2 record. Luongo and McLennan were the only two to take the ice between the pipes for the Panthers through the season. He later played with the Calgary Flames (3-5-1, .895, 3.60) and the Detroit Red Wings (18 seconds in the playoffs, zero shots faced).
Jamie McLennan (via hockeycitizen)
All-Time Statline: One season, 17 games, 678 minutes, 2-4-2 record, 360 shots faced, 326 saves, 34 goals allowed, 3.01 GAA, .906 save percentage, 1.6 APS.
141. Michal Repik
Repik was a 5’10” right winger from Vlasim, Czech Republic. The Panthers picked him in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft with the 40th overall pick. In three seasons with the WHL Vancouver Giants, he totalled 75 goals and 93 assists in 176 contests.
Repik joined the AHL Rochester Americans in 2008-09, playing 75 games with the club. He scored 19 goals with 30 assists and a minus-13 rating. He was also called up twice to play with the NHL Panthers, scoring in his first game each time, a 4-3 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on December 8, and in a March 12th 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
In 2009-10, Repik appeared in 60 Rochester games (22 goals, 31 assists, plus-14). He also played in 19 Florida games. In an ATOI of 8:35, he scored three goals on 23 shots with two assists. He scored a goal and an assist in a 7-1 win over the New York Islanders on December 14th.
Hard Work Nets A Goal (11/7/09) (via theultimategoalcom)
2010-11 would see Repik appear in a (so far) career high 31 NHL games with the Panthers. He finished the season with a minus-6 rating in 12:47 of ATOI, scoring two goals on 54 shots with six assists. The balance of his season was spent in Rochester (53 games, 11 goals, 34 assists).
In 2011-12, Repik played in 55 AHL games with the San Antonio Rampage (14 goals, 21 assists). He also made 17 appearances with the Panthers, scoring two goals on 35 shots in 10:22 ATOI, making two assists and a minus-3 rating. He is currently a restricted free agent with the Panthers, waiting for the phone to ring.
All-Time Statline: Four seasons, 72 games, nine goals, 11 assists, 20 points, minus-7 rating, 36 PIM, 1.6 APS.
Thanks for reading today’s entry. Make sure to comment below, vote for your Michal Repik opinion, and check back tomorrow for our rundown of two Russians, a goaltender and a defenseman, a Canadian center, and a Floridian defenseman (you historians out there already know who I’m talking about).
Michal Repik…what do you think?
| He’s paid his dues, let’s give him a full time one-way contract | 6 |
| Try to get him to sign a two-way deal | 15 |
| I’ve seen enough, he’ll never pan out for Florida – time for a trade | 27 |