As Injuries Pile Up, Patrick Giles Has Real Chance to Make Florida Panthers Roster
After getting a shot to center the fourth line in the Panthers’ preseason tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning, rookie center Patrick Giles will continue to get an extended look in that role.
Photo by Colby Guy
With injuries piling up, the competition for the spot as the Florida Panthers’ fourth line center is wide open — and Patrick Giles is seemingly the leader in the clubhouse.
The 6-foot-4 forward turned heads during training camp, looking faster and stronger than he did the previous two years. He backed that training camp performance up with a goal and three assists in his first two preseason games thus far.
“I’m just trying to play my best hockey,” Giles said. “I think, for me, that’s just being hard on the puck, skating fast, being good on the forecheck. It’s stuff that I’ve worked a lot on in Charlotte and that’s prepared me for this camp and this season so I’m just trying to hone in on that stuff.”
An injury to Tomas Nosek which will keep him out for “weeks, not days” opened up a spot alongside presumable fourth-line wingers A.J. Greer and Jesper Boqvist during the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Nashville Predators.
The bulk of the playing time on that line was given to Giles, and it was because of what he showed the team in camp.
Giles, a 24-year-old rookie, was seen as a dark horse for a roster spot going into camp. The undrafted forward out of Boston College scored 13 goals and 23 points in 66 games for AHL Charlotte last season, scoring 10 more goals than he did in Year 1, and he continued to work hard to build on that growth this summer.
Now, he has a real chance to secure a spot.
“He has made huge improvements in his speed,” coach Paul Maurice said. “So, two years ago, we thought he was a big man that had some hands around the net. But he’s at a whole new level of conditioning and speed, so we’re certainly interested to see how he develops.”
After putting up a goal and an assist against Nashville and picking up two more against the Lightning, he will get the opportunity to center that line again on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The chemistry is certainly starting to build — it certainly showed when he drove the net and dished of a slick backhand centering pass to Boqvist for his first of two assists — and his play style is certainly there.
He flashed his keen hand-eye on his lone goal of the preseason thus far — quickly kicking a Josh Davies feed from his feet to his stick before wiring a wrist shot bar down.
Regardless of whether he continues to put points on the board or not, Giles wants to continue to show that he could be a good fit on that line.
“The points are nice, but I think just doing the little things goes a long away, especially in camp,” Giles said. “Kind of showing what you can do to help the team all over the ice. Davies set me up for a great play on the goal there, that was a great pass by him. And then I’m just trying to stick with doing the little things and hopefully the stats come along.”
Injury Notes:
— Justin Sourdif is out “week-to-week” with what Maurice called an ‘upper-body injury.’ He got multiple stitches in his face after sliding head-first into the boards during practice on Tuesday.
— Anton Lundell is “day-to-day” with a minor lower-body injury.
— Mackie Samoskevich remains “day-to-day” with an upper-body injury.