Welcome back to the Wednesday edition of your All-Time Florida Panthers Roster Countdown. For more details as to how this list was established, click here.
Yesterday, we checked out D Kārlis Skrastiņš (97 games, five goals, 14 assists), D Mike Wilson (83 games, four goals, 17 assists), and C Steven Reinprecht (111 games, 20 goals, 28 assists). Today, we’ll get a look at a Swedish defenseman, a center from Canada, and a left winger from the USSR.
Click the jump to follow along.
87. Magnus Svensson
Svensson, a 5’11” defenseman from Tranas, Sweden, was originally selected in the 12th round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames, 250th overall. At the time of his selection, he was a four year veteran of Leksands IF in the Swedish Elite League. He would stay with the team for 10 seasons (342 games, 91 goals, 128 assists) before venturing stateside. Prior to his first foray into the NHL, the Flames traded him to the Panthers with Robert Svehla for a third round pick in the 1996 draft and cash.
After spending 35 games with the Swiss-A League team Davos (eight goals, 25 assists), Svensson joined the Panthers near the end of the 1994-95 season. He lit the lamp twice on 41 shots, also assisting on five more in Florida’s last 19 regular season games. In spite of his limited playing time, he posted a team third best plus-5 rating on the season.
Svensson opened the 1995-96 season with the Panthers, spending the whole season with the club. He played in at least one game in each month of the regular season, but was shelved on several occasions for mulitple games with injuries. He totalled 27 games for Florida throughout the season, scoring two goals on 59 shots along with nine assists as the team made the playoffs for the first time in their short history. Svensson would not appear for the Panthers in the postseason, rejoining Leksands IF after the season.
Kevin Dineen Nails Svensson FLYERS vs PANTHERS (via hockeyfightguy)
Svensson played in four more seasons with Leksands (185 games, 25 goals, 70 assists), also joining the Swiss-A team Rapperswil-Jona (42 games, seven goals, 25 assists) and the Swedish League Nybro Vikings (40 games, 15 goals, seven assists).
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 46 games, four goals, 14 assists, 18 points, minus-6 rating, 31 PIM, 4.2 APS.
86. Mike Santorelli
Santorelli is a 6′ center from Vancouver, BC. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft with the 178th overall pick. After selection, he would join Northern Michigan University and play three seasons of collegiate hockey with the Wildcats, racking up 61 goals and 49 assists in 121 matches.
Santorelli joined the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals for the 2007-08 season, scoring 21 goals and 21 assists in 80 games. He would stay with Milwaukee in 2008-09, playing in 70 games and scoring 27 goals and 43 assists. He also appeared in seven NHL games with the Predators, taking 11 shots on goal and finishing the season with a minus-5 rating.
2009-10 would see Santorelli spend 57 games with the Admirals (26 goals, 33 assists), also playing in 25 NHL games with the Preds (two goals, one assist, minus-8 rating. Nashville traded him to the Panthers during the 2010 offseason for a fourth round draft choice (Josh Shalla).
Santorelli would play in all 82 Panthers games through the 2010-11 season, along with David Booth, Mike Weaver, and Marty Reasoner. He would score a team third best 20 goals on 193 shots in 16:41 of ice time centering Florida’s third line. He was also third on the team with 21 assists, his 41 total points were second only to Stephen Weiss‘ 49. He would finish the year with a minus-17 rating and only 20 PIM.
MIKE SANTORELLI amazing goals tribute (via icehookysk)
Things were looking bright for Santorelli coming into the 2011-12 season, but he never really got into the swing of things after missing the first seven games of the season with a shoulder injury. In 12:24 ATOI while centering Florida’s third and fourth, Santo totalled nine goals on 117 shots with only two assists and a minus-10 rating. He was scratched from the Panthers lineup in each of the seasons’ last nine games, and did not appear in Florida’s first postseason in 12 years. Florida waived him on June 28th, but as of yet, no other team has claimed him.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 142 games, 29 goals, 23 assists, 52 points, minus-27 rating, 38 PIM, 4.2 APS.
85. Oleg Kvasha
Kvasha was a 6’6″ behemoth left winger from Moscow when Florida chose him in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft with the 65th overall pick. He would play his first season in North America with the AHL New Haven Beast in 1997-98, picking up 13 goals and 16 assists in 57 games.
In 1998-99, Kvasha began the season with the Panthers NHL roster, playing in a total of 68 games with the team. He made two assists in his first NHL appearance, both assists, in a 4-1 season opening victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was one of four multi-point games for Kvasha that season. He totalled 12 goals on 138 shots in 12:48 ATOI, also making 13 assists and finishing the season at plus-5.
1999-00 would see Kvasha play in 78 games with the Panthers. For the second time in his two seasons with Florida he opened the season with two assists in a victory, this time a 4-3 decision over the Washington Capitals. He would score five goals on 110 shots, along with 20 assists in bottom six minutes, 11:24 ATOI. He would finish the season with a plus-3 rating. In four postseason matches with the Panthers, he finished with an even rating and six shots on goal as Florida was swept by the New Jersey Devils. The Panthers traded him to the New York Islanders after the season with Mark Parrish for Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen (probably our best trade ever).
Kvasha played in parts of five seasons with the Islanders, totalling 60 goals and 96 assists in 332 games, posting a minus-13 rating along with 250 PIM. He would appear in 15 games with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005-06, scoring four goals and seven assists.
Kvasha went back to Russia following the 2005-06 season, and has since played with Chekhov Vityaz (81 games, 27 goals, 26 assists), Chelyabinsk Traktor (52 games, 18 goals, 17 assists), Mytishchi Atlant (46 games, 12 goals, seven assists), Magnitogorsk Metallurg (45 games, five goals, two assists), and last season with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik (44 games, 10 goals, 13 assists).
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 146 games, 17 goals, 33 assists, 50 points, plus-8 rating, 79 PIM, 4.2 APS.
Thank you for reading our 50th entry in the countdown. Make sure to come back tomorrow to check out a defenseman from Newfoundland and two Czechs, a center and a defenseman.