Welcome to Volume 10 of LBC’s All-Time Florida Panthers Roster Countdown. If you’re interested to know how the list was calculated, check it out here.
Yesterday, we touched on the careers of Doug Barrault, Hugh Jessiman, David Emma, Chris Wells, and Eric Beaudoin. Moving forward, today we will look at two left wingers, a right winger, a defenseman, and the first goaltender on the list.
Click on through, if you feel the need for speed.
244. Alex Hicks
Hicks was a 6′ left winger from Calgary skating with the IHL Las Vegas Thunder when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim signed him to a free agent deal in the 1995 offseason. He made his NHL debut with the Ducks a month into the 1995-96 regular season, after scoring two goals and 10 assists through 13 games with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the Baltimore Bandits.
Hicks performed pretty well in his NHL debut, scoring two goals on four shots with an assist in a 7-3 Anaheim victory over the Colorado Avalanche on November 15th. It was one of three two goal games from Hicks during his rookie season. He finished up with 10 goals and 11 assists, a plus-11 rating and 37 PIM in 64 NHL games.
After scoring two goals with six assists through the first 18 games of the 1996-97 season, the Ducks traded Hicks, along with Fredrik Olausson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Shawn Antoski and Dmitri Mironov. Hicks played 55 games with the Penguins, scoring five goals and 15 assists.
Hicks would remain with Pittsburgh through the 1997-98 season, scoring seven goals and 13 assists in 58 games. He was not resigned by the Penguins after the season, instead signing a free agent contract with the San Jose Sharks.
In 1998-99, Hicks played only four games with the Sharks, logging one assist before the team shipped him, along with a fifth round draft choice, off to Florida for Jeff Norton. As a new Panther, Hicks played 51 games, not scoring any goals on 47 shots. He collected six assists and a minus-4 rating, along with 58 PIM.
Hicks was injured for most of the 1999-00 campaign, rehabbing for 17 games with the AHL Louisville Panthers, scoring six goals and five assists in 17 games. He was recalled to Florida for the stretch run, playing the final eight games of the season with the club. He scored one goal and two assists over eight games, tacking on another assist through four playoff games.
Starting in 2000-01, Hicks joined the German League, playing first for EHC Eisbaren Berlin, then later with Kolner Haie.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 59 games, one goal, eight assists, nine points, minus-1 rating, 62 PIM, APS: 0.0
243. Ty Jones
Jones was a highly regarded 6’3″ right winger from Richland, Washington, with early comparisms to Keith Tkachuk. He was in his second season with the WHL Spokane Chiefs when his name was called in the first round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, with the 16th overall pick. He would play with the Chiefs for another season.
Jones opened the 1998-99 season on the Chicago roster, not scoring through eight games. It would be a long road back to the NHL. Sent back to the Spokane Chiefs, he played 26 games before getting traded to the WHL Kamloops Blazers. In four total WHL season, Jones totalled 75 goals and 110 assists in 207 games.
Jones spent the next four seasons with the IHL Cleveland Lumberjacks (10 games), the ECHL Florida Everblades (48 games), the AHL Norfolk Admirals (119 games), and the WCHL Anchorage Aces (12 games).
In 2003-04, Jones opened the season with the Admirals, scoring four goals and five assists through 37 contests. Chicago traded him to the Panthers on March 2nd for “future considerations.” After two games with the AHL San Antonio Rampage, he was called up for a look in Florida. He did not score through six games, earning seven PIM with an even rating over 30 shifts. Jones retired following the season. He is regarded by many as one of the biggest busts in NHL Draft History.
All-Time Statline: One season, six games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, even rating, seven PIM, 0.0 APS.
242. Tim Kennedy
Kennedy is a 5’10” left winger from Buffalo, New York. He had just finished his second season with the USHL Sioux City Musketeers when selected in the sixth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, with the 181st overall pick. He was instantly traded to his hometown Buffalo Sabres for a 2006 sixth round draft choice.
Kennedy started skating with the Michigan State Spartans in the 2006-07 season. The team won the NCAA Championship in his freshman season, Kennedy contributed a goal and an assist in the winning game. In three seasons with the Spartans, Kennedy scored 42 goals and 61 assists in 113 games.
In 2008-09, Kennedy played the bulk of the season with the Sabres AHL team, the Portland Pirates, scoring 18 goals with 49 assists in 73 games. He was called up to fill in for one game during the season, a 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Islanders on December 27th. Kennedy got third line minutes, skating 15 shifts and taking one shot on goal.
Kennedy spent the 2009-10 season with the Sabres, posting his best NHL numbers (so far). In 78 games he scored 10 goals on 98 shots, including three game winners, with 16 assists. He logged a minus-3 rating with 50 PIM. He also contribute a goal and two assists in six playoff games, a series loss to the Boston Bruins.
The Sabres chose not to resign Kennedy, who instead signed a free agent contract with the New York Rangers during the 2010 offseason. Per Wikipedia:
At the end of the 2009-10 season, Kennedy’s entry-level contract expired resulting in a contract dispute with the Sabres. Kennedy went to arbitration to settle the contract dispute for the 2010–11 season. This resulted in an arbitration ruling of $1,000,000. In the dispute, Kennedy wanted a higher valued contract that was one-way to remain at the NHL level over the lesser two-way contract the Sabres were offering him that would have him split time between the Sabres and their AHL affiliate in Portland. The Sabres didn’t want to pay the additional amount. So on August 2, 2010, the Sabres waived Kennedy.
After scoring 42 points in 53 games with the Rangers AHL affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, he was traded along with a third round draft choice (Logan Shaw) to the Panthers for Bryan McCabe on February 26th. He reported to the AHL Rochester Americans playing 13 games with the club. He earned two callups to the Panthers late in the season, assisting one goal with an even rating, and taking two shots on goal.
2011-12 would see Kennedy open the season on Florida’s new AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. In two callups, he totalled one goal – a game winner in a 4-2 Panthers victory over the New York Islanders – and one assist. He logged four penalty minutes with a dreadful minus-11 rating. Kennedy was sent back to the Rampage, and soon after was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Sean Sullivan.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 33 games, one goal, two assists, three points, minus-11 rating, four PIM, -0.6 APS.
Note concerning Kennedy – I mistakenly left out Kennedy’s 2011-12 stats when making final tabulations for this list, his APS reflects this shortsight. For those perfectionists out there who must know, he should have been number 287.
241. Rocky Thompson
Thompson was a 6’2″ defenseman from Calgary with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers when drafted in the third round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames with the 72nd overall pick. In three total seasons with the Tigers, Thompson scored 11 goals with 30 assists, and 646 penalty minutes in 202 games.
After earning 33 penalty minutes in only four games with the St. John Flames at the end of the 1995-96 campaign, Thompson would split the following season between two WHL franchises, the Tigers and the Swift Current Broncos, scoring 23 points and earning 260 penalty minutes in 69 collective games.
In 1997-98, Thompson spent most of the season with the AHL Flames, 51 games. He earned two callups to Calgary, in 12 games he had seven fights for 61 penalty minutes. He did not score, and finished with an even rating.
Slowed by injury in 1998-99, Thompson appeared in 27 games with St. John. In a January callup to Calgary, he earned 25 penalty minutes in only six minutes of ice-time over three games.
Thompson opened the 1999-00 season with the AHL Flames, scoring 10 points with 125 PIM in 53 games. Calgary traded him to the Panthers for Filip Kuba on March 16th, and Thompson finished the season with the Louisville Panthers, earning an incredible 54 penalty minutes in only three games.
Thompson played 55 games in 2000-01 with Louisville, playing four games with the NHL Panthers in March. In six minutes of ice time he earned 19 penalty minutes, and did not score.
2001-02 would see Thompson spend the bulk of the season with the AHL Hershey Bears, earning another March callup to Florida. Over six games he took one shot on goal in 24 minutes of ice time, spending 12 minutes in the box. It was the last time Thompson would see NHL action.
Jim McKenzie vs Rocky Thompson (via pjstock20)
Thompson spent five more seasons in the AHL, with the San Antonio Rampage, the Toronto Roadrunners, the Edmonton Roadrunners, and the Peoria Rivermen. He earned 1,919 penalty minutes in 566 career AHL games, scoring 17 goals and 52 assists.
Thompson joined the coaching ranks after retiring following the 2006-07 season, with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He is currently an assistant with the Oklahoma City Barons.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 10 games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, even rating, 31 PIM, 0.0 APS.
240. Pokey Reddick
Reddick was a 5’8″ 170 lb. goaltender from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was tending for the IHL Fort Wayne Komets in 1985-86 when signed to a free agent contract with the Winnipeg Jets.
Reddick stepped right in as the Jets number one goalie, posting a 21-21-4 record over 48 games in 1986-87, with an .881 save percentage and a 3.24 GAA. Over three seasons with Winnipeg he put up a 41-51-14 record with a 3.73 GAA and a .873 save percentage.
During the 1989 offseason, Reddick was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for future considerations. He played in 13 games for Edmonton over the next two seasons, posting a 5-6-2 record with an .883 save percentage and a 3.31 GAA.
In 1991-92 and 1992-93, Reddick posted a 44-24-9 AHL record between the Fort Wayne Komets and the Cape Breton Oilers. He signed a free agent contract with the Panthers during the 1993 offseason. He played most of the season with the Cincinnati Cyclones, posting a 3.05 GAA and a 31-12-6 record. He was called up to the Panthers in February to cover as Florida’s number two goaltender while John Vanbiesbrouck recovered from a slight injury. In two games he posted a 0-1-0 record with a 6.00 GAA and an .822 save percentage.
Reddick spent the next five seasons in the IHL, with the Las Vegas Thunder, the Grand Rapids Griffins, the San Antonio Dragons, the Kansas City Blades and the Fort Wayne Komets. In 1999-00 he joined the Frankfurt Lions in Germany for three seasons before retiring. He is the NHL’s record holder for most games goaltended without a shutout, with 132.
All-Time Statline: One season, two games, 80 minutes of ice time, 0-1-0 record, eight goals allowed, 37 saves, 45 shots faced, .822 save percentage, 6.00 GAA.
Thank you for reading, any comments are encouraged. Make sure to check back tomorrow for five more players in the Panther’s pantheon, ranked 239-235, as we make our way to the top.
Which of these players do you remember the most fondly?
| Alex Hicks | 7 |
| Ty Jones | 1 |
| Tim Kennedy | 13 |
| Rocky Thompson | 10 |
| Pokey Reddick | 7 |