This is it. Tonight is the final audition of Training Camp, as the Panthers wind down their exhibition schedule with a home tilt against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The regular season is just a week away. After tonight, the regular season begins to come fully into focus.
The Rundown
Though tonight’s roster likely represents what next Saturday night’s roster against Philadelphia will look like, roster implications still are on the line. In the lineup tonight are pipeline regular Quinton Howden, and Connor Brickley, who has had a strong camp thus far to add on to his successful first professional season in 2014-15. Between the time Howden has put in, and the performance Brickley has had thus far at the professional level, these players have earned the right to play this final game. One would think solid efforts from both tonight should cement roster spots for both players, if spots aren’t solidified already.
Realistically, there are two spots open on wing for the Panthers. PTO recipient Martin Havlat and another pipeline regular in Garrett Wilson are currently on the outside looking in. Barring tepid performances from the above mentioned tonight, it looks like they will not be joining the Panthers roster. Best of luck to Havlat in his next stop in hockey, but I have a feeling we’ll see Garrett Wilson back at some point. Dale Tallon has spoke glowingly of the forward in the past, he would be a candidate for a callup in case of injury, or could join a rotation of depth forwards once Lawson Crouse has returned to Junior.
Speaking of Crouse, he has temporarily has a roster spot won on the basis that he is suspended through October 17 in the OHL. Though he does not appear ready to make an impact in the NHL, keeping him up until his suspension seems like a good idea. He would be riding the pine in the OHL anyway, so why not instead have him do that at a higher level? This might be a good experience for him in that it gives him a taste of what happens at the top professional level once the season has started. This could be useful down the road for when he is ready to make the jump, and make the transition smoother for him with informed expectations.
The only risk here is that Garrett Wilson must pass through waivers in order to be sent down to the minors. However, the risk is small and outweighed by the potential benefits. He may also have been going down anyway, with the status of Rocco Grimaldi up in the air due to his untimely ankle injury. Regardless, one of those two players will likely take Crouse’s spot once he has returned to Junior.
Also on the outside looking in is Dylan Olsen. This isn’t too much of a shock, based on last season and the fact he has not stood out at Camp. It was going to take an extraordinary effort to change the makeup of the Panthers defense, given that no new players were added. Hopefully he can continue work back from whatever issues have been ailing him, and continue his journey back to the NHL.
Tonight’s full lineup can be seen below, courtesy of George Richards:
#FlaPanthers lineup for tonight's game v #tbLightning … no Olsen nor Havlat pic.twitter.com/0U4cwbGqeS
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) October 3, 2015
Closing Thoughts
Definitely keep your eyes on Connor Brickley tonight, he’s been great so far in the preseason, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t stop now.
That aside, enjoy tonight. Also, if you enjoyed last year’s Pre-Game Skate columns, and are dismayed by the amount of evangelizing and lack of stats talk so far in the preseason, worry not. We’ll be back to business as usual, with a somewhat modified format, for the start of the season next week!
AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter.
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