George Richards, FHN Publisher
From now until the start of training camp on Thursday morning, Florida Hockey Now will profile players who will play a key role for the 2022-23 Florida Panthers.
Today’s Player: Goalie Spencer Knight.
What Happened Last Year: After a lukewarm start to his rookie season likely based on rust from not playing as much as anything else, Knight had a fantastic second half to the 2021-22 season and was a big reason Florida claimed the Presidents’ Trophy.
After returning from AHL Charlotte in March, Knight found more playing time with the Panthers — and thrived in the spotlight, winning 10 of his 19 games in the final two months of the season.
Overall, Knight went 19-9-3 with a 2.79 GAA and .908 save percentage.
It was a very solid rookie season indeed.
What to Look For at Camp: Knight will once again be sharing the net with assumed starter Sergei Bobrovsky but last season’s strong showing from both goalies may show little change in the hierarchy at least right now.
Last season’s strong finish — he did not see action in any of the 10 postseason games — should give the Panthers thought to give him more playing time but that will be something to come once the season starts.
Questions To Be Answered This Season: Bobrovsky comes into camp as the starter and his bounce back gives him plenty of leeway to continue getting the majority of the starts.
But, in watching how Knight’s play improved in the second half of the season, do not be surprised to see the split of playing time skew more toward the middle.
Bobrovsky will likely get most of the starts, sure; but do not expect him to play as many consecutive games in the first half of the season (whether he deserves to or not) as he did last season in order to get Knight some more action.
In Their Words: ”It definitely helped me,” Knight said after returning from an extended stay in Charlotte. “Practicing is one thing, but I kind of drive myself crazy when I’m practicing too much. I’m kind of overthinking it, whereas when you’re playing, you’re just playing and that’s what I love to do. … I just like to play games and that’s why I’m here. It was nice to mix in some games with a good group in Charlotte.”
Overall Outlook: Knight, now 21, is definitely being groomed as the Panthers’ so-called ‘Goalie of the Future,’ but it will be interesting to see when he takes over that mantle. It will probably be more of a subtle succession.
With Bobrovsky entering the fourth season of a seven-year contract (which is hard to do anything with for the next two), he continues to be the go-to goalie for the Panthers. Deservedly so.
Bobrovsky was fantastic last season and answered the bell when Knight came into camp last year looking to take over the starting role.
But Knight gives the Panthers a solid 1-2 punch in net and by giving him more playing time — especially early — that should help Bobrovsky with wear-and-tear. That said, Bobrovsky wants to play every night and would probably go out there for all 82 games if he could.
But he is also smart enough to know he is getting older and taking a night off every once in a while, and moreso than in the past, will be beneficial to him moving forward.
That will be good for Bobrovsky, the Panthers and especially Knight.
FHN COUNTDOWN TO CAMP
Upcoming: Gus Forsling, Carter Verhaeghe, Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell