Florida Panthers Head to Orlando With Meaningful Roster Battles Playing Out

The Florida Panthers are heading up to Orlando to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning with a roster full of players looking to make their mark in the heat of a roster battle.

Photo by Colby Guy

The Florida Panthers might not be bringing their big guns to Orlando for their preseason clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night, but there is still a whole lot to watch for.

An injury to Tomas Nosek which will keep him out for “weeks, not days” opened up a spot on the fourth line that a litany of contenders will try to make their case for.

Wednesday night’s roster is littered with players vying for that spot: William Lockwood, Jonah Gadjovich, Patrick Giles, Zac Dalpe, Mackenzie Entwistle and Rasmus Asplund are chief among them.

Adam Boqvist, Nate Schmidt, Uvis Balinskis and Tobias Bjornfot will all suit up on Wednesday vying for the final two spots on the blueline and on the power play.

And they are likely to get a lot of reps over the next week as the Panthers prepare to play three preseason games over the next four days.

“The next three games, you won’t see most of the veterans,” Maurice said. “When we get to the Saturday home game, you’ll see a couple come in only for veteran requirements, but this three game block is going to narrow things down.

“We got a handful of spots up front and on the blue line that’s we’re working on, but we obviously have quite a few more people here than spots. These next three games are where you make that cut. You survive camp, we give you a glimpse of our gameplan, we give you a taste of the effort level that’s needed, give you a day off and now the opportunity to apply these things.”

Giles is getting the first crack at playing in Nosek’s usual spot between projected fourth line wingers A.J. Greer and Jesper Boqvist.

If he makes the roster, it would mark the 24-year-old’s first shot at NHL playing time after he scored 13 goals and 23 points with AHL Charlotte this past season.

“The first thing is, he’s faster,” Maurice said of Giles. “When you go back to his start, what we would have said is that he’s big, bad, has really good hands. The question is foot speed. And then he’s trained hard and you can see the improvements in his testing. The next thing is, that’s a big man that gets up and down the ice.

“We probably have four players that we would consider at center ice in that position. He is now one of them. So, what he did in the first four days was that he got himself into the conversation. I think he could play the wing and possibly his end game would be more effective on the wing, but with the injury, we’ve got some new additions at center ice.”

As for the competition at the blue line, Schmidt and Boqvist lead the way, sharing a pairing together and each quarterbacking a power play unit during Wednesday’s optional morning skate.

Boqvist, a 24-year-old who has drafted eighth overall for his offensive capabilities and played that role for both the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, is the leader of the pack. He anchored that first power play unit alongside the usual suspects: Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe.

Schmidt is slated to quarterback the second power play unit.

The competition for power play time is still pretty open — Aaron Ekblad was given some power play time during the pre-season opening doubleheader while Gustav Forsling and Uvis Balinskis are more than capable offensively for the job — but they are getting the first crack at it.

Their performance in those power play roles during the preseason could ultimately help them win jobs on the opening night roster.

“Well, it is a factor,” Maurice said. “If you are a main component of a special team, that’s a strength.

“Let’s relate it to Kevin Stenlund from last year as a forward. Even if his 5-on-5 game wasn’t where I wanted it, like if he was our worst player 5-on-5, his penalty kill was so elite that by the end of the year, he’s in our lineup. So, it does matter.

“It will all depend on if you have a piece of special teams that you are elite at. It gives you more room with your 5-on-5 game. If you’re not on special teams, then your 5-on-5 game is what you’re selling, so there’s a balance there.”

Rosters for Wednesday’s preseason clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning: