Welcome to the Friday edition of the LBC All-Time Florida Panthers Roster Countdown, where the hits just keep on coming. For an in-depth explanation on the construction of this list, click here.
In yesterdays dispatch, we went over D Greg Smyth (12 games, one goal), RW Victor Oreskovich (50 games, two goals, four assists), D Noah Welch (29 games, two goals, one assist), and LW Jeff Toms (eight games, two goals, two assists).
Today, we will catch up with three defensemen, two Canadian and one Russian, along with a right winger from Washington State.
For more, follow the jump.
168. Dmitry Yushkevich
Yushkevich was a 6′ defenseman from Cherepovets, Russia. The Philadelphia Flyers picked him with their sixth round pick of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft with the 122nd overall pick. Before moving stateside, he played one season in the Russian League with the Moscow Dynamo, scoring five goals and seven assists in 35 games. He also was on the Gold Medal winning Russian National team in the 1992 Olympics.
In 1992-93, Yushkevich joined the Flyers, playing in all 82 games. In three seasons with Philadelphia, he scored 15 goals and 61 assists in 197 NHL contests. The Flyers traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on August 30th, 1995 with a second round pick for a first, a second and a fourth round pick.
Yushkevich opened the 1995-96 season with the Leafs, spending the next seven seasons with the club. In 506 career games he tallied 25 goals and 110 assists with a minus-12 rating. He would add two goals and 10 assists through 44 playoff matches.
The Maple Leafs traded him to the Panthers for Robert Svehla before the 2002-03 season. He scored his only goal with Florida in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Atlanta Thrashers, ultimately playing in 23 games and making six assists. The Cats traded him to the Los Angeles Kings on November 26th with a fifth round pick for Jaroslav Bednar and Andreas Lilja.
Yushkevich finished out the season between the Kings (42 games, three assists) and the Flyers (18 games, two goals, two assists). It would be his last appearance in the NHL. He played with several Russian teams through the next few seasons, retiring in January 2008 to take care of his three children after his wife passed away.
All-Time Statline: One season, 23 games, one goal, six assists, seven points, minus-12 rating, 14 PIM, 0.6 APS.
167. Scott Levins
Levins was a 6’4″ right winger from Spokane, Washington. The Winnipeg Jets selected him in the fourth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft with the 75th overall pick.
The 1990-91 season would see Levins make his pro debut with the Jets AHL affilitate, the Moncton Hawks. He would spend the next two seasons and most of a third with the club, totalling 49 goals and 70 assists in 197 games. He also appeared in nine games with the Jets near the start of the season, taking eight shots on goal without scoring and making one assist.
Levins was left unprotected by the Jets in the expansion draft prior to the 1993-94 season, where Florida gladly picked him up. He had a lot of impact very early in the Panthers existence, assisting twice in the Panthers first ever game, a 4-4 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also scored goals in each of the next two games. He scored twice in a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on October 14th. He was on pace for a 98 point season after five games. Unfortunately he cooled off, totalling five goals and six assists in 29 Panthers games. On January 6th, the Cats traded him to the Ottawa Senators with Evgeny Davydov and a fourth and sixth round pick for Bob Kudelski.
Levins spent the majority of his NHL career with the Senators, splitting time with their minor league affiliates. He totalled 84 NHL games with the club, scoring eight goals and 13 assists.
The Phoenix Coyotes signed Levins to a free agent contract prior to the 1997-98 season, but only played in two more NHL contests. After a season with the AHL Beast of New Haven (80 games, 32 goals, 26 assists), he would appear in Germany with the Revier Lowen Oberhausen (48 games, 14 goals, 12 assists), the Kassel Huskies (59 games, 17 goals, 14 assists), and the Eisbaren Berlin (51 games, 11 goals, seven assists). He also appeared with the UHL Quad City Mallards (11 games, four goals, four assists), the British League Sheffield Steelers (25 games, 12 goals, 10 assists), and the UHL Columbus Stars (24 games, eight goals, 14 assists), retiring after the 2003-04 season.
All-Time Statline: One season, 29 games, five goals, six assists, 11 points, plus-4 rating, 51 PIM, 0.7 APS.
166. Randy Moller
Moller was a 6’2″ defenseman from Calgary, Alberta. He was with the WHL Lethbridge Broncos when chosen by the Quebec Nordiques with their first round pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft with the 11th overall pick. In two seasons with the Broncos he totalled 24 goals and 76 assists with 425 PIM in 106 contests.
Moller opened the 1982-83 season on the Nordiques roster, spending his first seven NHL seasons with the club. He ranks 16th on their all-time list with 508 games played, scoring 33 goals and 119 assists with a franchise fifth most 1,002 penalty minutes, along with a plus-55 rating. He added five goals and six assists in 48 playoff games. The Nordiques traded him to the New York Rangers just before the 1989-90 season for Michel Petit.
With the Rangers, Moller appeared in 164 games, scoring seven goals and 38 assists with 378 penalty minutes, adding on goal and six assists in 16 playoff contests. After two and a half seasons with the club, the Rangers traded him to the Buffalo Sabres for Jay Wells on March 9th, 1992.
Moller finished out the season with the Sabres, also spending the next two in Buffalo. He played in 126 games, scoring five goals and 20 assists, along with 296 PIM.
Prior to the 1994-95 season, Moller signed a free agent contract with the Panthers. Injuries limited him to 17 games for Florida, in which he notched three assists, failing to light the lamp with 12 shots on goal. He also earned 16 PIM and a minus-5 rating.
Moller is far more famous to the Florida fanbase as the architect of “Moller-vision.” He is the voice of the Panthers radio play-by-play, and also the President of the Panthers Alumni Association.
What are you doing? Its Shark Week! (via 330626)
All-Time Statline: One season, 17 games, zero goals, three assists, three points, minus-5 rating, 16 PIM, 0.7 APS.
165. John Jakopin
Jakopin was a 6’5″ defenseman from Toronto. He was picked up in the fourth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings with the 97th overall pick. He elected to first go to college, completing four years and graduating with the Class of 1997. In four collegiate seasons he totalled 136 games, scoring 20 goals with 45 assists. At the end of the 1996-97 season, he made his professional debut, playing in three games with the AHL Adirondack Red Wings. Detroit did not tender him a contract after the season.
Prior to the 1997-98 season, Jakopin signed a free agent contract to play in the Panthers system. He played in 60 games with the AHL Beast of New Haven, scoring twice with 18 assists. He also made his NHL debut, playing two games with the Panthers in March. He took one shot on goal over 33 shifts, earned four penalty minutes and finished with a minus-3.
In 1998-99, Jakopin again spent most of the season with the Beast, in 60 games scoring two goals with seven assists. He was twice called up to play with the Panthers, playing 53 shifts and finishing up at minus-1.
1999-00 would see Jakopin start the season on the Panthers NHL roster, earning time in the first 14 games of the season. He earned 26 penalty minutes and only took one shot on goal in 203 minutes of time on ice. He would also play 23 games with the AHL version of the Panthers in Louisville, scoring four goals and six assists.
Jakopin spent the majority of the 2000-01 season with Florida, playing 60 games. He scored his first and only career NHL goal in a 2-2 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 20th. Ultimately, he finished the season with two assists and 62 penalty minutes.
John Jakopin vs Brad DeFauw (via SIoyvenheaven1)
Prior to the 2001-02 season, Jakopin cleared waivers and was picked up by the Penguins (19 games, four assists). He played part of the 2002-03 season with the San Jose Sharks (12 games) to close out his NHL career.
After splitting the 2003-04 season between the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack (42 games, three goals, four assists) and the Binghampton Senators (11 games, one goal), Jakopin surfaced with ZM Olimpija Ljubljana, appearing in five games. He retired in 2005.
All-Time Statline: Four seasons, 82 games, one goal, two assists, three points, minus-10 rating, 92 PIM, 0.7 APS.
Thank you for reading today’s entry. Check back next week as we continue counting towards number one with a British Columbian goaltender, a Finnish defenseman, a left winger from Alberta, and a right winger from Quebec.