George Richards, FHN Publisher
FORT LAUDERDALE — Most NHL general managers were quite busy 30 minutes before the start of the NHL Draft on Friday, but Bill Zito spent his pregame speaking to a large gathering of fans before then taking a few on a tour of his team’s draft ‘War Room’ at the IcePlex.
Zito mentioned more than a few times that the Panthers could get back into the first round as quickly as it takes to answer his phone, although few expected such a move to go down.
So, as the first few picks of the draft were made — Gavin McKenna went No. 1 to the Maple Leafs, Ivar Sternberg second to the Sharks — Zito stepped into the team’s auditorium to speak with the media.
These kind of press conferences on draft day are usually held at the end of the opening round.
After the Panthers traded their two first-round picks to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday in the Brady Tkachuk blockbuster, Zito could take ‘er easy and watch the first round unfold from afar.
”It’s always fun on a day where you know you’re picking, and we still very well may be picking tonight,” Zito said on Friday evening. “There is that anticipation of ‘is our guy going to be there?’ And, if not, can we move back and maybe get an extra pick for another guy.”
The Panthers have not had a first-round pick since taking Mackie Samoskevich with the 24th overall pick in 2021.
On Sunday, Samoskevich went to Seattle for the 25th pick in Friday’s opening round — a selection that was then bundled in Ottawa’s draft haul for Tkachuk.
The Panthers, barring one of those phone calls, will not have a first-round pick until at least 2030.
But they still have draft picks — including six today.
The Panthers hold the 40th and 48th pick in the first half of the second round.
Despite the lack of high draft capital, Florida’s amateur scouting group works as if they hold a basket of top picks.
Florida has been pretty good the past few years at finding gems outside the first round, and hope to uncover a few more today.
The Panthers have six picks in the final six rounds of the draft that starts at 11 a.m. in Buffalo (NHL Network).
“These guys, they work all year long, and they are committed,” Zito said of his legion of scouts. “They travel all over the world through all kinds of weather, watching in all these small rinks. I want to thank them for the work they do, and that enables us to do a lot of what we do. Then they uncover guys like Sandis Vilmanis in the late rounds, and that is a tremendous value to the organization.’’
Some of Florida’s finds outside the first round since Zito revamped the team’s scouting staff after the 2020 draft include Linus Eriksson (2nd, 2024), Hunter St. Martin (6th, 2024), Gracyn Sawchyn (2nd, 2023), Marek Alscher (3rd, 2022), Ludvig Jansson (4th, 2022), Vilmanis (5th, 2022), and Jack Devine (7th, 2022).
In the 2020 draft, Florida struck paydirt by taking Anton Lundell with the 12th overall pick, but later grabbed players such as Emil Heineman (2nd), Justin Sourdif (3rd), Mike Benning (4th), and Devon Levi (7th).
2026 NHL DRAFT
- When: Today; Key Bank Center, Buffalo
- Second-Seventh Rounds: Saturday, 11 a.m. (NHL Network)
- Panthers Selections (Six Overall) — Round 1: None; Round 2 (Today): No. 40, No. 48; Round 3: None; Round 4: No. 98; Round 5: None; Round 6: No. 168, No. 181; Round 7: No. 217
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Draft (No picks in First Round, Six Overall): Today; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- NHL Free Agency: Opens July 1
- Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Preseason (Four Games): Starts Sept. 20 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA