Evaluating the Panthers- Part 4

 A blueline that was built last offseason full of vets to hopefully steady the Panthers into the playoffs was quickly dismantled and will be a lot younger next season.  After the likes of Ruslan Salei and Brad Stuart were shipped out this season the team gave the oppurtunity to some young faces to see what the could bring to the ice.  With a young influx of defenders coming in next year this may be the deepest position in the entire franchise.

  At the top of the list is Bryan McCabe, McCabe is the current captain of the Panthers and there have been heavy talks that the team is desperatly trying to bring back their pending UFA captain.  McCabe played a great year on the blueline and Dylan is looking for Bryan to come into next year and help devolp the young players and hopefully be apart of the team for a future playoff run.  Also at the top is veteran defensive defenceman Brendan Witt, Witt has been a very underrated defenseman in the league and could be shopped this offseason but the team might rather have him devolp some young defenders along with McCabe.  There are two other defenseman that are high on the depth chart but will be shopped agressivly this summer.  That would be Nolan Pratt and Frantisek Kaberle who are looked to be gone to leave room for some young defenders.

  With all that leaves about 4-5 spots on next years blueline. One of the possible guys that will fill that spot is young stud defender Alex Pietrangelo who was take 5th overall last draft by the Panthers. Alex has had an excellent year with the Niagra Ice Dogs and it would seem that a spot on the Panthers back end is all but locked up.  Pending RFA Freddy Meyer will also probablly get a spot, Freddy was called up last year after the deadline when room was made for him on the roster.  Freddy took the role and played well down the stretch giving him a good shot at a roster spot.  The last 2-3 spots will be between a fierce battle of 4-5 defenders if all stays the same this offseason.  Joe Callahan is one of those guys who made the opening night roster and had some succesful stints on the team and has really impressed managment to allow him these oppurtunities.  Also another  combant would be Logan Stephenson who was a little shaky after being acquired but will get a hard look at camp.  The other two are big defender Phil Oreskovic who played some solid defense down the stretch and also Nathan Oystrick whose rights were acquired from the Leafs at the deadline.  It will be a very interesting camp with a lot of battles but Dylan is keen on adding a few more names to the mix also.

  There are a bunch of other defenders who will get a chance at camp but ultimatley look destined for the AHL. With guys like Baumgartner, McNeil and Novak all leaving this summer it seems like the load will go to journeyman guys like Drew Bagnall, Sasha Pokulok and Bryce Lampman.  All three will shovel a load on the blueline and will probablly spend the entire year there but all played capable years with the Everblades and hopefully the experience of a disappointing year gives them extra drive to perform well next year. To add to the depth on the Everblades, the team will dip into their prospect pool which will give those three a run for their money.  Michael Caruso who will add some extra spark to the blueline along with Matt Duffy who also will give some extra juice to the blueline.  Chris Frank will also be given a chance to prove himself and will get some pro experience next year with stints on the Everblades.

 Even with guys like Pietrangelo, Oystrick and Caruso all going pro next year the team still has some solid prospects at the blueline.  Last years 2nd round pick Aaron Ness is one of those players. Ness had an excellent year with Minnesota and was one of the better defenceman at the college level this past season and will once again return to college and remain as one of the teams top prospects.   Also on that list is Kirill Tulupov the russian defender who played a pretty good year last season with the Victoriaville Tigers of the QMJHL.  After that the list runs dry with only names like Sean Lorenz and Roman Deryluk.  Though not a major concern on the blueline, Dylan would like to improve the depth of the position like he will with all the others. 

AND a word from the GM

" We feel pretty confident at the blueline.  At last draft we spent our first 2 picks trying to bolster our blueline and I think we were succesful.  We have some other young guys that we feel that we have a rough top 6 set for the future but it wouldnt hurt to add a couple other names to the list.  We have been in heavy discussions with Bryan and his agent and we expect to hear back from him in the coming days. Bryan is our captain and to be brutally honest, it would suck to lose him.  Bryan will help guys like Alex devolp and we have an offer on the table that we hope is good enough to suit his needs."