Welcome back to the humpday edition of the sesquentenial LBC All-Time Florida Panther Roster Countdown. For the rundown on the lowdown, click here for details.
Yesterday, we got to recaps of former short-term solutions Byron Bitz, Kamil Piros, Josh Olsen, and Drew Larman. Today, we’ll get into a Czech defenseman and three left wingers, two from Quebec and one from the former Soviet Union.
Since you’ve come this far, you might as well keep it up. Comment and vote after the jump…
196. Martin Lojek
Lojek was a 6’5″ defenseman from Brno of the Czech Republic. He was in his first season with the OHL Brampton Battalion when the Panthers selected him in the fourth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 105th overall pick. He spent two more seasons in the Battalion, totalling only five goals with 42 assists in 191 contests.
2005-06 would see Lojek make his pro debut with the ECHL Florida Everblades (45 games, three goals, 11 assists), later getting promoted to the AHL Rochester Americans (15 games, one goal, one assist).
In 2006-07, Lojek spent most of the season with the Americans (69 games, six goals, 13 assists), earning a three game callup to the Panthers in February. He scored his first NHL point in his third and final game of the season, an assist in a 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. He also logged a plus-3 rating in the game.
Lojek spent the balance of the 2007-08 season in Rochester (72 games, six goals, five assists). He earned a two game callup near the end of December, registering a minus-1 rating and not impacting the scoresheet in any other way.
For the last four seasons, Lojek has played 172 games in the Czech League with Pardubice HC (12 games) and Trinec Ocelari HC (160 games). Overall, he has collected 11 goals and 18 assists.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, five games, zero goals, one assist, one point, plus-1 rating, zero PIM, 0.2 APS.
195. Gaetan Duchesne
Duchesne was a 5’11” left winger from Les Saulles, Quebec. He was with the QMJHL Quebec Remparts when the Washington Capitals selected him in the eighth round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft with the 152nd overall pick. In 120 QMJHL contests, Duchesne totalled 36 goals and 73 assists.
Without having appeared in the Capitals farm system, Duchesne began the 1981-82 season on the Washington roster, scoring nine goals and 14 assists in 74 NHL games as a rookie. In 451 games over six seasons in Washington, he totalled 87 goals and 138 assists (including a career high 35 in 1986-87) with a plus-68 and 251 penalty minutes. He added 10 goals and six assists through 33 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
During the 1987 offseason, Duchesne was traded with Alan Haworth and a first round pick to the Quebec Nordiques for Clint Malarchuk and Dale Hunter. In two seasons with the Nordiques, he scored 32 goals (including a career high 24 in 1987-88) and 44 assists in 150 games.
The Nordiques traded him to the Minnesota North Stars for Kevin Kaminski during the 1989 offseason. He completed four seasons in Minnesota, totalling 45 goals and 55 assists in 297 matches. He would also play in 37 playoff games, scoring two goals and three assists.
After the North Stars became the Dallas Stars, the team traded Duchesne to the San Jose Sharks during the 1993 offseason for a sixth round draft choice.
In one and a half seasons with the Sharks, he would score 14 goals with 25 assists in 117 games. Florida traded a sixth round pick to the Sharks for him on April 7, 1995.
Duchesne spent the last 13 games of the 1994-95 campaign with Florida, assisting on two goals. He scored his first and last Panther goal in the last game of the season, a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 3rd.
After the season, Duchesne missed one season, later playing 69 games over two years with the IHL Quebec Rafales. On April 16, 2007, Duchesne died of an apparent heart attack in Quebec City. He was 44 years old. The Capitals have chosen to honor his memory by annually awarding the Gaetan Duchesne Trophy to the winning intra-squad team during training camp scrimmages.
All-Time Statline: One season, 13 games, one goal, two assists, three points, plus-3, zero PIM, 0.2 APS.
194. Gilbert Dionne
Dionne was a 6′ left winger from Drummondville, Quebec. He was skating with the OHL Kitchener Rangers when the Montreal Canadiens chose him in the fourth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft with the 81st overall pick. In two seasons in Kitchener, he scored 59 goals and 90 assists in only 130 games.
Dionne made his pro debut with the 1990-91 AHL Fredericton Canadiens, scoring 40 goals and 47 assists in 77 games. Montreal called him up twice during the season.
In 1991-92, Dionne split the season between Fredericton and Montreal. He scored 19 goals and 27 assists wih only 29 AHL contests, while collecting a career high 21 goals in only 39 NHL games, also making 13 assists. In parts of five Montreal seasons he finished with 60 goals and 60 assists in 196 games.
The Canadiens traded Dionne along with Eric Desjardins and John LeClair to the Philadelphia Flyers for Mark Recchi and a third round draft pick on February 9th, 1995. In 22 Flyers games over two seasons, he totalled seven assists.
Dionne signed a free agent contract with the Panthers on January 29th, 1996, playing 55 games with the AHL Carolina Panthers and scoring 43 goals and 58 assists. In April, he made a five game appearance with Florida, earning an assist in each of his first two games. He scored his first Florida goal in a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers on April 14th.
Dionne played 1996-97 with the newly named Carolina Monarchs, scoring 41 goals and 47 assists in 72 matches. The four succeeding seasons were spent with the IHL Cincinnati Cyclones, where Dionne scored 134 goals and 202 assists in 313 games.
In 2001-02, Dionne played with Krefeld Pinguine in the German Elite League, scoring 15 goals and 26 assists in 57 games. 2002-03 would see him remain in the German League with the Hannover Scorpions, scoring 17 goals and 29 assists in 51 matches.
Starting in 2003-04, Dionne spent three seasons with the Cambridge Hornets of the OHA-Senior League, collecting 49 goals and 73 assists in 63 games.
All-Time Statline: One season, five games, one goal, two assists, three points, even rating, zero PIM, 0.2 APS.
193. Evgeny Davydov
Davydov was a 6′ left winger from Chelyabinsk, USSR. He was on CSKA Moscow when the Winnipeg Jets selected him in the 12th round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft with the 235th overall pick. In 246 total games with the club he collected 85 goals and 53 assists.
He made his professional debut in 1991-92 with the Jets, splitting the season with his time in Moscow. In 12 games he scored four goals with three assists. He spent the entire 1992-93 season with Winnipeg, tallying 28 goals and 21 assists in 79 games.
Just prior to the 1993-94 season, Florida sent a fourth round draft choice to Winnipeg for Davydov. He spent half a season with the Panthers, logging an assist in four of his first five Florida games. He made a goal and an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 21st, ultimately ending up with two goals and six assists in 21 Panthers games. The Panthers traded him along with Scott Levins, a sixth round pick and a fourth round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Bob Kudelsi on January 6th.
With the Senators, Davydov played the final 40 games of the season, plus three the following season. He totalled six goals and nine assists. He also played 29 IHL games scoring 12 goals and 13 assists split between the San Diego Gulls and the Chicago Wolves.
Starting in 1995-96, Davydov spent the next nine seasons in Swiss, French, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, German, and Italian Leagues.
All-Time Statline: One season, 21 games, two goals, six assists, eight points, minus-3 rating, zero PIM, 0.3 APS.
Who were you most hoping to have seen more of in a Panthers uniform?
| Martin Lojek | 8 |
| Gaetan Duchesne | 8 |
| Evgeny Davydov | 10 |
| Gilbert Dionne | 3 |