George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers had a welcomed site at practice Wednesday as star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was on the ice for the first time since training camp opened earlier this month.
Bobrovsky had been on the team’s ‘unfit to play’ list with what is believed to be COVID-19 related.
Although it is unlikely Bobrovsky would start in Sunday’s season-opener against Chicago after being off the ice for more than a week, the Panthers were certainly glad to have Bob back.
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Coach Joel Quenneville did not rule Bobrovsky out for Sunday.
“It is definitely great to be back with the guys, start working, see the puck and be around my teammates again,” Bobrovsky said Wednesday morning following practice.
“It was great to be back. I feel great. I just need a few more practices and I will be ready to go. … It was fun to see my teammates, throw some jokes around, and see some pucks. I have been missing that during the time I was out. It was so nice to be back.”
The Panthers have been practice without Bobrovsky — as well as defenseman Markus Nutivaara and center Juho Lammikko — since the beginning of training camp.
“It’s definitely not easy knowing your teammates are out here battling and working hard to get ready and you are kind of out of action,” Bobrovsky said.
“It’s not easy but I am glad it is behind me. I am very excited to be here. We’re going to go day-by-day and take one practice at a time to build up. I want to play as much as I can, but if I go out there, I have to be ready to give the guys a chance to win the game.”
Florida was already planning on starting either Chris Driedger or Sam Montembeault against the Blackhawks and that certainly could remain the case.
If the Panthers were to give Bobrovsky a week of work before his first start, or even a few more days, the Panthers’ second game is Tuesday against the Blackhawks.
Florida’s third game is at Carolina next Thursday which would give Bobrovsky a full week to prepare.
“It was good to see him back out there,” Quenneville said. “He did a lot of drills, took just about every shot on his end. We’ll see how he comes in tomorrow, we’ll talk to our goalie group and he will dictate over the next few days whether Sunday is an option or not.”
Bobrovsky was not allowed to join the Panthers at the arena nor visit the team’s training facility in Coral Springs during the time he was out.
He said Wednesday that he did light workouts and mostly “rested” during his time away from the team.
“I more or less did nothing,” Bobrovsky said. “I did some stretching stuff, some squatting … it was easy. I was just trying to maintain and to eat healthy. I did light workouts, resting in other words.”
Bobrovsky is known for his physical fitness and work off the ice and the Panthers have all said they were impressed with the work Bobrovsky put in before camp started.
Wednesday, it did not look like Bobrovsky shied away from doing anything and rarely gave up the net to take a break at the bench.
“It was important to feel the net, feel the ice, feel the equipment on your body, see the puck and the traffic,” Bobrovsky said. “It was a great practice and we had all the (game) aspects. … I worked a little bit extra on the fundamental stuff so that was great for me.”
Florida Panthers training camp notes
The Panthers only held one practice session on Wednesday and some players were missing.
With the team expected to officially announce its roster sometime Wednesday, it appears that forward Grigori Denisenko and defenseman Chase Priskie, among others, did not make the team.
Denisenko and Priskie will likely report to the Panthers’ split AHL team with Tampa Bay in Syracuse.
More roster moves when it becomes official.
“You have guys who will play, guys who will start on the taxi squad and that’s kind of the group,” Quenneville said of Wednesday’s workout.
“It could change as we go along, every day could be different, but everyone went in one group today. We liked what we saw. The energy is progressing through camp and we like the way they are pushing one another in a positive way.
“And, we get to watch some real hockey today which gets that appetite up when we come back on Friday for two practices.”
— With what appears to be the 2021 opening night roster on the ice Wednesday, not much changed as far as personnel pairing.
On the fourth line, Vinnie Hinostroza worked on the left side of Noel Acciari and Brett Connolly. Ryan Lomberg had been in that spot.
Defensively, newcomer Gustav Forsling worked on the third pairing with Radko Gudas. Keith Yandle and Brady Keeper were on Florida’s fourth pair.
All four goalies worked Wednesday with Philippe Desrosiers joining Bobrovsky, Driedger and Montembeault not long before practice ended.