Welcome back to your weekend edition of the Florida Panthers All-Time Roster Countdown. Won’t stop ’till we get enough. For a full rundown on How the West Was Won, click here.
In yesterday’s entry, we recapped former Panthers D Branislav Mezei (174 games, four goals, 13 assists), D Dennis Seidenberg (62 games, two goals, 21 assists), and C Brett McLean (147 games, 21 goals, 35 assists). In today’s wrapup, we’ll look at a Canadian defenseman, a current center from Germany, and an original Panther blueliner.
Follow the jump to read more.
96. Joel Kwiatkowski
Kwiatkowski was a 6’2″ defenseman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Dallas Stars selected him in the eighth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft with the 194th overall pick. In four WHL seasons, he appeared with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets (110 games, 10 goals, 30 assists) and the Prince George Cougars (166 games, 43 goals, 90 assists). He made his pro debut with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, spending the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons exclusively with the club (150 games, 16 goals, 43 assists).
Kwiatkowski was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Patrick Traverse during the 2000 offseason. In parts of three seasons with the organization, he split his time between the IHL Grand Rapids Griffins (142 games, 12 goals, 38 assists), Ottawa (35 games, one goal, two assists), and one game with the AHL Binghampton Senators. He was traded to the Washington Capitals on January 15, 2003 for a ninth round pick.
Kwiatkowski would remain on the Caps NHL roster throughout his time with the franchise, totalling six goals and nine assists in 114 games. He signed a free agent contract to play with Florida before the never-played 2004-05 season. Instead of sitting on the couch, he played AHL hockey between the San Antonio Rampage (64 games, 13 goals, 19 assists) and the St. John’s Maple Leafs (17 games, seven goals, six assists).
When play resumed for the 2005-06 season, Kwiatkowski opened the season with the Panthers, appearing in 73 games over the course of the season. He averaged 16:21 per game, scoring four goals on 87 shots, dishing out eight helpers. He finished the season with a plus-3 rating and 8 PIM.
Kwiatkowski played 41 games for the 2006-07 Panthers, averaging only 9:46 per game. He made five goals on 46 shots, collected five assists, posted a minus-5 rating and spent 20 minutes in the box. He was sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fourth round pick (Matt Rust) on February 27.
After one game with the Penguins, Kwiatkowski appeared in 18 games with the Atlanta Thrashers during 2007-08. He made five assists, spending most of the season with the AHL Chicago Wolves (59 games, 21 goals, 29 assists).
Kwiatkowski spent 2008-09 in the KHL with Cherepovets Severstal (52 games, 13 goals, 12 assists), 2009-10 with the KHL St. Petersburg SKA (50 goals, seven goals, 12 assists), and 2010-11/2011-12 with Bern in the Swiss League (77 games, 17 goals, 21 assists).
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 114 games, nine goals, 13 assists, 22 points, minus-2 rating, 106 PIM, 3.8 APS.
95. Marcel Goc
Goc was a 6’1″ center from Calw, Germany. He was the San Jose Sharks first round selection, 20th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to embarking on his North American career, he played four seasons in the German Elite League, racking up 27 goals and 56 assists in 198 games, split between the Schwenningen Wild Wings and the Mannheim Eagles.
2003-04 would see Goc spend 78 games in the AHL with the Cleveland Barons, scoring 16 goals and 34 assists. He may have been ready for the big time the following season, but with no season to play spent another year with the Barons, scoring 16 goals and 34 assists in 76 games.
Goc has never again appeared in the minor leagues. He joined the Sharks on opening day of the 2005-06 season, ultimately playing with the team for four seasons (265 games, 20 goals, 34 assists). He joined the Nashville Predators for two seasons beginning in 2009-10 (124 games, 21 goals, 33 assists) before signing a free agent contract to join the Panthers on July 1, 2011.
Last season with the Panthers, Goc played in 57 contests (also his jersey number). He had five multi-point efforts, totalling 11 goals on 97 shots while averaging 17:37 TOI. Goc was a sneaky good second line center, his plus-5 rating good for second on the team. He was usually on ice for the oppositions top line, showing the faith the coaching staff had in him. He would add two goals and three assists in his seven playoff appearances. He is currently signed with Florida through the 2013-14 season at a cap hit of $1.7M.
Marcel Goc – sensational deflection goal 3/15/12 (via NHLVideo)
All-Time Statline: One season, 57 games, 11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points, plus-5 rating, 10 PIM, 3.9 APS.
94. Joe Cirella
Cirella was a 6’3″ defenseman from Hamilton, Ontario. He was selected in the first round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft with the fifth overall pick by the Colorado Rockies (Devils).
In three seasons in Juniors with the OHL Oshawa Generals, he totalled 18 goals and 87 assists in 115 games. He made his first NHL appearance with the 1981-82 Colorado Rockies, totalling seven goals and 12 assists in 65 games. He would stay with the franchise when they became the New Jersey Devils the following season, spending a total of eight seasons with the team. He racked up 50 goals and 169 assists over 503 regular season contests. He would add seven assists in the Devils only playoff appearance during his tenure, in 19 games in 1987-88.
Cirella later appeared with the Quebec Nordiques (95 games, six goals, 24 assists) and the New York Rangers (141 games, seven goals, 18 assists). The Panthers claimed him in the 1993 Expansion Draft.
Florida’s inaugural 1993-94 campaign would see Cirella appear in 63 contests, scoring one goal on 63 shots with nine assists, 99 PIM, and a team fourth best plus-8 rating.
In the strike-shortened 1994-95 season, Cirella was limited by injury to 20 games. He took 13 shots on goal, collected one assist, and posted a minus-7 rating.
Cirella appeared in six games with the Ottawa Senators in 1995-96 to close out his NHL career, playing in 40 games with the IHL Milwaukee Admirals. He spent the 1996-97 season with Kolner Haie in Germany, scoring two goals and seven assists in 54 games.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 83 games, one goal, 10 assists, 11 points, plus-1 rating, 120 PIM, 4.0 APS.
Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure to check in on Monday for another entry in the Florida Panther’s canon with three Canadian defensemen.
Marcel Goc was the linchpin on the overperforming second line at the end of last season (with Sean Bergenheim and the recently departed Mikael Samuelsson). What are you expecting out of our second (or third) line center this season?
| Goc was outplaying himself, I look for him to come back to earth. | 8 |
| Goc is solid, I look for more of the same from him. | 66 |
| Goc is just hitting his stride, I think he’ll have career highs this season in goals, assists and points. | 23 |
| If Goc stays healthy, I think he has a shot at the All-Star roster. | 2 |