Welcome back to the LBC All-Time Panthers Roster Countdown. If you’re just coming in, check here for the details on how this list was built.
Friday, we took a look at long ago Panthers Brad Smyth, Mikhail Yakubov, Eric Boguniecki, Stefan Meyer, and Garth Murray. Today, we continue with the minutae of Florida Panthers day-to-day historical roster fill-ins with a right winger, two left wingers, and two centers who averaged 12 Florida appearances between them.
Vote, read, and watch, after the jump.
254. Lee Goren
Goren was a 6’3″ right winger about to start a college hockey career with the University of North Dakota when drafted by the Boston Bruins in the third round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with the 63rd overall pick. In three WCHA seasons, he posted 63 goals and 61 assists in 111 contests.
In the 2000-01 season, Goren made his professional debut with the AHL Providence Bruins, scoring 15 goals and 18 assists in 54 games. During the season, he received call-ups to Boston on three occasions, for one game in December, for four games in January, and then in February, for the last 16 games of the season. He managed two goals while finishing with a minus-3 rating and seven penalty minutes.
A victim of the numbers game in 2001-02, Goren spent the entire season in Providence, playing 71 games and scoring 11 goals out of 37 total points.
In 2002-03, Goren averaged over a point per game in Providence, totalling 69 points in 65 games. During that time, he was called up to Boston on four occasions, in 14 games scoring two goals with an assist, a minus-2 rating and seven PIM. During the 2003 offseason, he signed a free agent contract to be a Florida Panther.
Goren played 65 games with the Panthers AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage in 2003-04, scoring 27 goals with 22 assists in 65 games. He earned a call from Florida at the end of October, and played in a grand total of two games with the club (did you blink?) He managed to collect one assist, but left with a minus-4 rating over 37 total shifts.
After the season, Goren signed another free agent contract, this time with the Vancouver Canucks. He spent most of the next three seasons with the AHL Manitoba Moose, appearing for a total of 30 games with the Canucks, scoring one goal with two assists, a minus-7 and 30 PIM. He has since appeared in Swedish, Swiss, Finnish, and German pro hockey.
All-Time Statline: One season, two games, zero goals, one assist, one point, minus-4, zero PIM, -0.1 APS.
253. Eric Messier
Messier was a 6’2″ left winger from Drummondville, Quebec. He played with the Sherbrooke Faucons in the QMJHL, scoring 10 goals and 52 assists in 176 games over three years. While with the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres, he signed a free agent contract with the Colorado Avalanche in the 1995 offseason.
Messier spent 1995-96 exclusively with the Avalanche AHL affiliate, the Cornwall Aces. He scored five goals and nine assists over 72 games with the club.
He spent most of the 1996-97 season with the AHL Hershey Bears, earning his first callup to Colorado in November. He did not score in 21 games, but finished the season with a plus-7 rating.
Messier opened the 1997-98 season with the Avalanche, and would spend the bulk of the next six seasons in Colorado. Over seven total seasons, he scored 25 goals with 47 assists, a plus-1 rating and 130 PIM in 385 total games. He also played in 72 playoff contests with the Avalanche, scoring three goals and five assists. He was part of the Stanley Cup Champion team of 2000-01.
In the 2003 offseason, the Florida Panthers traded Peter Worrell and a second round draft choice to Colorado for Messier and Vaclav Nederost. Messier appeared in 21 contests with the Panthers, earning three assists and a minus-2 rating with 16 penalty minutes. He injured his wrist on his first shift of a November 21st matchup with the Atlanta Thrashers, a 6-3 loss. He never returned to the ice, retiring at the age of 30.
All-Time Statline: One season, 21 games, zero goals, three assists, three points, minus-2 rating, 16 penalty minutes, -0.1 APS.
252. Steve MacIntyre
MacIntyre is a 6’5″ left winger from Brock, Saskatchewan. He skated in several leagues through his early 20’s, appearing with the St. Jean Mission of the QSPHL (10 games, 68 PIM) and the UHL’s Muskegon Fury (54 games, 279 PIM) during the 2002-03 season. He scored a combined three goals and two assists during the season.
MacIntyre spent most of the time from 2003-04 through 2005-06 with the ECHL Charlotte Checkers, in 168 games earning 669 penalty minutes, while scoring five goals and 10 assists. He signed his first NHL contract in the 2005 offseason with the New York Rangers, but failed to make an impact through camp.
He signed a free agent contract with the Panthers in the 2008 offseason, but again failed to make an NHL roster. He was waived following training camp and picked up by the Edmonton Oilers. Over parts of two seasons with the Oilers, he played 26 regular season games, scoring two goals and one assist with a minus-5 and 64 PIM. He was waived by Edmonton four games into the 2009-10 season, where Florida again picked him up on November 10th.
During the 2009-10 season with the Panthers, MacIntyre played 18 games, earning his only career Panther point, an assist, in a 6-2 loss to Buffalo on March 31. He finished the season with a minus-3 rating and 17 PIM. The Oilers picked him up again, where he played 34 games during the 2010-11 season. He spent the 2011-12 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, appearing in 12 games.
All-Time Statline: One season, 18 games, zero goals, one assist, minus-3 rating, 17 PIM, -0.1 APS.
Donald Brashear vs Steve MacIntyre Nov 25, 2009 (via hockeyfightsdotcom)
251. Nick Smith
Smith was a 6’2″ center from Hamilton, Ontario, playing with the OHL Barrie Colts when drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with the 74th overall pick.
After two more seasons with the Colts (three seasons total), Smith had played 194 games, scoring 42 goals and 73 assists. He opened the 1999-00 season with the Panthers then AHL affiliate, the Louisville Panthers, scoring 12 points in 53 games.
Smith injured his knee in training camp on September 25, 2000, and missed most of the season. He returned to action for 23 games with Louisville late in the season, earning 25 PIM and scoring one goal with two assists.
Smith split the 2001-02 season between two AHL teams, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the Saint John Flames, also making two appearances in Florida. He played in three games for the Panthers in December, over 28 shifts winning seven of 16 faceoffs. He resurfaced with the club on March 20th, spending the last 12 games of the season with the parent club. He closed the season with zero points in 15 games played, registering a minus-1 and taking two shots on goal.
Smith signed a free agent contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2002 offseason, but has not appeared in the NHL since his time with the Panthers. He was out of professional hockey after spending two seasons with the Ducks AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, from 2002-04.
In 2007-08, Smith showed up in the OHA-Sr. league with the Dundas Real McCoys. Over three seasons, including playoffs, he has scored 59 goals and 119 assists in 79 games.
All-Time Statline: One season, 15 games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, minus-1 rating, zero PIM, -0.1 APS.
250. Matt Herr
Herr was a 6’2″ center from Hackensack, New Jersey. After a high school career which saw him score 102 goals and 70 assists in 90 games, he was selected in the fourth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals with the 93rd overall pick.
Herr then played college hockey, pursuing a degree in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. In four seasons with the Wolverines, he scored 72 goals and 61 assists in 151 games, graduating with the class of 1998.
Herr opened the 1998-99 season with the Capitals, before having spent any time in the Caps minor league system. In 30 games with Washington, he scored two goals and two assists with a minus-7 rating and eight penalty minutes. Most of the season was spent with the AHL Portland Pirates, scoring 15 goals and 14 assists in 46 games.
In 1999-00, Herr played the whole season in Portland, finishing with 22 goals and 21 assists in 77 games. 2000-01 would see Herr again start the season in Portland, but injuries forced the Caps to call him up in December. Herr played well, in 22 games with Washington he scored two goals and three assists with a plus-3 rating and 17 penalty minutes. After being sent back to the Pirates, the Caps organization traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers for Dean Melanson.
During the offseason, Herr signed a free agent contract with the Panthers. He would spend 61 games out of the 2001-02 season with the AHL Hershey Bears, scoring 34 points. During the season, he was twice called up to fill in with the Cats, in November and again in January. In three games total he accrued a minus-2 rating and took one shot on goal over 32 shifts. He signed on with the Boston Bruins after the season, and would play three games with the NHL club. He burnt up most of two seasons with the AHL Providence Bruins, scoring 52 goals and 64 assists in 148 games.
When the NHL lost the 2004-05 season, Herr played one year with the DEG Metro Stars Dusseldorf in Germany, in 44 games scoring 13 goals and seven assists.
Herr left professional hockey after the season, and now teaches history and psychology in Connecticut, at the Kent School. He also coaches the baseball and hockey teams.
All-Time Statline: One season, three games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, minus-2 rating, zero PIM, -0.1 APS.
Let me know what you think about today’s featured players, and remember to check back tomorrow for the next five players.
If you remember any of these players, who would have had the best chance of finishing higher on this list if they had been given more time with the club?
| Lee Goren | 6 |
| Matt Herr | 2 |
| Nick Smith | 0 |
| Steve MacIntyre | 11 |
| Eric Messier | 16 |