The Florida Panthers selected right wing Shamar Moses in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft held at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
After putting up 25 points in his first year in the OHL with the Barrie Colts, Moses began his draft season in Barrie, where he played five scoreless games before he was traded to the North Bay Battalion. He totaled 12 goals and 36 assists in 61 games with North Bay. He collected three assists in five postseason games as the Battalion was eliminated in the first round by the Brantford Bulldogs.
As is customary, Moses attended his first development camp with the Panthers in Fort Lauderdale after being drafted and then returned to the Sunshine State for the 2025 NHL Prospect Tournament in Wesley Chapel, FL in September, where he assisted on a goal against Carolina in the first game and added another helper in the second game against Tampa Bay.
Following a stint at Florida’s main training camp, Moses returned to North Bay for his draft-plus one season.
Unfortunately, Moses struggled and failed to build on his 48-point performance the year prior, finishing his second turn with the Battalion with just eight goals and ten assists in 48 games played. He posted the worst plus/minus rating (-17) on the team while accumulating 60 penalty minutes. I do want to point out that while there is no arguing that Moses regressed, North Bay wasn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut by any means, so a little food for thought when taking his numbers into consideration.
He appeared in four of the Battalion’s ten postseason games as the club advanced to the second round, where they were swept by Brantford. Moses set up North Bay’s only goal in Game 2 against the Bulldogs and lit the lamp in Game 4.
Moses returned to South Florida for this summer’s development camp and scored a goal for Team White in the 3-on-3 scrimmage held on the final day of the event.
There is a definite disconnect between some of the scouting reports out there on Moses – he was described by Dobber Prospects as having the most offensive upside of Florida’s 2025 draft class – and his performance thus far with the Battalion. He has an NHL frame and possesses a powerful shot, but he’s only got 25 OHL goals in three seasons to show for it. His best offensive assets might be his vision and passing ability as he did put up 36 assists in 66 games during his draft season. Moses might be one of those players that performs better when the games have more meaning. After averaging .375 points during the regular season, he had a goal and an assist in the four postseason games he played in 2026, after collecting three assists in five playoff games in 2025. During the times that he’s put on a Florida sweater for development camp and prospects games, he’s looked a bit more like advertised.
At this point, Moses is an “all clay” prospect who needs to be molded. Certainly, the Panthers like his size, and he has strong offensive instincts and can hammer a puck, often getting time on the point for North Bay during his draft season. Moses’ skating is really poor. He has very little burst and had a nocticeably difficult time keeping up with other drafted players in his stint with the Panthers rookies last summer when it came to pure skating ability. That said, he goes to the right spots on the ice and isn’t afraid of playing in traffic. Moses needs a strong, healthy season to earn an entry-level contract after his draft plus-two year, and the timing might work out in his favor. He’s the only unsigned forward in the organization that the Cats need to sign before June 1, 2027 or else lose his rights.
Don’t be surprised if the Panthers take a long-term approach to developing Moses. He may be one of the few guys in the system that needs time in the ECHL before playing AHL hockey.