Our countdown rolls on with a legacy pick who could become the Florida Panthers first-ever second-generation skater.
#13 – Riley Stillman – defenseman – Oshawa Generals
Highest ranking: 11 Lowest Ranking: 16
Drafted by the Panthers this summer with the second of the club’s two fourth-round picks (114th overall), Riley Stillman is certainly no stranger to the Sunrise-based organization. His father Cory played 102 games for the Cats starting in 2009 before he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in February of 2011.
Unlike his scoring forward pops, Riley is a mobile, left-shooting defenseman who just completed his first full season with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. After playing 9 games in Oshawa during the 2014-15 campaign (after spending most of that season with the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars), Stillman suited up for 62 tilts with the Generals in 2015-16 and posted six goals and 21 points to go along with a -9 rating.
Stillman’s has decent size (5-10, 180 lbs) for his age and his main strength is his skating. He uses that combination to maintain good gap control and is hard to beat in one-on-one situations. His offensive numbers were decent last year, but should improve as he continues to develop. Stillman has good offensive tools, but was probably hamstrung a bit by playing on a Oshawa team that wasn’t that strong.
Although his still a bit raw, Stillman showed great improvement over the course of the ‘15-16 season and there is no reason to think that won’t continue when he returns to the Generals this season. It may take him some time, but young Riley could have top-four potential when all is said and done. After getting our first look at him in development camp, he will warrant keeping an eye on over the next few years.