As the Cats get ready for draft lottery day on Tuesday, other prospects in their system could make the team next season. During exit interviews, Paul Maurice talked about the positives of having so many young players in the lineup the last two seasons. With training camp shortened and fewer pre-season games, Maurice mentioned how much harder it’s going to be for young players to make the lineup. But with that, since the Cats had a bunch of them playing in games at the end of the year, the coaching staff doesn’t have to wonder what they’ll look like in an NHL environment. Paul said that it essentially gave them two weeks of evaluation on the young talent that they otherwise wouldn’t have in the fall. 

The player I think that’s most likely to crack the lineup is Mike Benning. The Cats traded Jeff Petry to Minnesota at the trade deadline, and Benning was given plenty of responsibility once he was called up. The team had him running a power play unit, trusted him on the top pairing with Forsling, and he showed he could produce points. In 18 games, he posted 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points, nearly the same points total as Petry had in 58 games with the Panthers (8 pts). Bill Zito tends to keep the contracts on the third defensive pair low; both Petry & Schmidt were on league-min contracts, so Benning would be a cap-friendly signing as well. Though Florida defensemen favor size paired with good to great mobility, Mike showed that he fit into the Panthers’ system well. Even if he didn’t play every game next season, if the Cats went with a third pair of Balinskis & Kulikov, he’s made a strong argument to have him on the roster next season. 

On the forward side, I think Sandis Vilmanis has a good shot at making the lineup. He played 19 games with the Panthers, scoring 3 goals and adding 2 assists. He also got to go play at the Olympics for Team Latvia with Balinskis. In one of the final games of the season for the Charlotte Checkers, he scored 4 goals heading into the Calder Cup Playoffs. He looked solid with the Panthers, and if Florida is looking to bring in some youth to their lineup, he’d be a candidate for the fourth line. All of the Panthers’ top 9 forwards are under contract still, and with proven chemistry, it’s unlikely there will be much change there. A.J. Greer is in an interesting place because he’s the Cats’ current fourth-line left winger, but he showed that he could play right wing this season and turned into more of a utility player. If he gets extended in the off-season, it becomes a bit harder for Vilmanis to make the lineup with Gadjovich under contract till the 2027-2028 season. 

The other forward who could make the lineup if the Panthers want to inject some youth is Cole Schwindt. Unfortunately for Nosek, he missed most of the year due to injury last off-season and was only on a one-year deal. While I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Zito chooses to keep him due to proof of concept with Greer and Gadjovich, Schwindt showed that he could be just as dependable at a slightly higher cap hit but significantly younger. In 29 games, he had 5 goals with 2 assists. At 25, that puts him in the age range as Lundell & Samoskevich, while being a couple of years back from where the majority of the roster sits, which is the 28-31 range. While three years may not look like much, it can make a huge difference and help inject a bit of speed into the lineup. In the last couple of years, the Panthers have consistently struggled against teams like New Jersey, Montreal, and Anaheim, teams that carry a lot of speed on their rosters. The youth in the lineup helped Florida be more competitive against Montreal at the end of the season than one would’ve expected. They still lost in frustrating fashion, but the younger players like Schwindt matched up pretty well against a very talented Candiens team packed with young stars. 

Some other players worth keeping an eye on are Cole Reinhardt and Luke Kunin; they’re not prospects but players that the Panthers picked up this year. Reinhardt looked rather strong in Florida’s system, and Kunin proved to be a solid depth player. Reinhardt is still under contract next season if the Cats choose to keep him, but Kunin would be a UFA this summer. There’s going to be plenty of decision-making for Bill Zito this offseason between the prospects in the system already and who they could potentially bring in if they keep their first-round draft pick for themselves. Typically, Zito tends to work through his biggest contracts first and then works his way down. So these depth decisions I expect won’t be made until after Free Agency opens up. Zito’s attention is likely entirely focused on sorting out the goaltending situation with both goalies up for contract right now.

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