FHN Today: Anton Lundell ready for first Florida Panthers camp

Anton Lundell, the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, has been in town the past few weeks getting ready for his first training camp.

The Panthers will open rookie camp — with Lundell attending — on Friday with a showcase tournament in the Tampa arena next weekend.

According to the Panthers, rookies will report Friday with on-ice workouts scheduled in Coral Springs from Saturday-Tuesday.

Practices at the IceDen will not be open to the public.

On Tuesday, Lundell went with teammates Markus Nutivaara and Aleksi Heponiemi to Marlins Park where he tossed out the ceremonial first pitch before Miami took on the New York Mets.

Lundell threw a nice one to Miami infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. who may be coming to more Panthers games in the future.

“I was pretty happy,” Lundell told Jameson Olive of FloridaPanthers.com. “It was just my goal to get it to Jazz. This is my first baseball game ever. It’s been cool. I’m already having a great time here.’’

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Lundell was projected to be Florida’s second-line center of the future when he was drafted and that could still be the case this season although he does have quite a few veterans in his way.

This rookie camp and tournament should give him a nice head start going into training camp which will open up in the coming weeks.

“It’s a new chapter of my life,’’ Lundell told Olive. “I’m really excited. It’s my first time living in Florida. It’s really exciting. I can’t wait for the season to get going.”

He is not alone there.

FLORIDA PANTHERS LINKS

The Panthers’ landmark NIL deal with local collegiate athletes took a big turn Wednesday as the team announced any active female athlete at FAU is eligible to sign a marketing deal with the team. (FloridaHockeyNow)

— We’re not saying Vincent Trocheck is going anywhere, but the Carolina Hurricanes are going to have to make some tough decisions. (FHN)

— For the full story on Lundell’s trip to Marlins Park, check out Jameson Olive’s story. (Panthers.com)

— Or, you could listen to him talk about it with Olive and Doug Plagens on Territory Talk. (Panthers.com)

AROUND THE NHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins will not have star Sidney Crosby for the start of training camp as he had wrist surgery Wednesday in New York.

“This is not a new injury for Sid. It is something that he has played through for years,” GM Ron Hextall said. (PittsburghHockeyNow)

— How would Pittsburgh replace Crosby and Evgeni Malkin? (PHN)

— The Sens give GM Pierre Dorion a contract extension. (Sportsnet)

— Taking a look at how the Red Wings will line up this season. (DetroitHockeyNews)

— Patrice Bergeron will worry about his future in Boston after this season — but not before. (BostonHockeyNow)