The Big Dig: Florida Panthers Search for Talent Outside of Draft

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers have not had a first-round draft pick since 2021 due to trades to build up their team, so, general manager Bill Zito has taken a different road to find talent.

The Panthers have used every available route to uncover talent — from the obvious (waivers, college free agents) to trades and free agency.

Florida has also been very active in dispatching pro scouts throughout Europe in an attempt to discover some hidden gems.

The investment in scouting and signing players is little compared to the potential windfall.

In 2023, the Panthers signed Uvis Balinskis, a defenseman who was 26 at the time, out of the Czech Extraliga.

Balinskis ended up making the team out of training camp, made his NHL debut with Florida, and, after spending much of the season with AHL Charlotte, ended his year with the Stanley Cup champions.

He is expected to make the Panthers out of camp this year — and play a much more substantial role.

Florida has since added more players from Europe.

On Thursday morning, two of them — 6-foot-6 defenseman Mikulas Hovorka and winger Oliver Okuliar — were on the ice with Florida’s prospect team which flew out to Nashville for this weekend’s Rookie Showcase hosted by the Predators.

Although both players will likely make their North American professional debuts this season with the Charlotte Checkers, a strong showing first at the showcase and then at training camp, could lead to some difficult decisions for the Panthers.

Both players are older than their current teammates and both have a couple of years of professional hockey already under their collective belts.

If either player stands out this weekend in Nashville, well, do not be surprised.

“They have experience, so they should not be overwhelmed so they should have composure, be able to slow the game down in their mind,” said Geordie Kinnear, coach of the Checkers who will be behind the bench for the Panthers at the three-game showcase.

“But it is a different culture and they will have to learn to adjust. But they will jump into that, get a feel for it. It may be a different style, the way Paul likes to play, and they will have to adjust to that. We are all creatures of habit; we all do what we have been taught for so long. It may take them a little bit of time.”

Unlike some of the younger players who are just turning pro and likely headed to Charlotte, Okuliar has gotten a head start in getting familiar with his new environs.

Okuliar, 24, not only took part in Florida’s July development camp, but has spent the past month working out in Fort Lauderdale with the Panthers and other NHLers who are prepping for the upcoming season.

There certainly is a lot to get adjusted to in the North American game, most notably the physical play on the smaller ice.

Then there is the off-ice stuff, like getting to know the equipment managers, meeting new teammates, getting a driver’s license.

“I cam here early, practiced with the guys and have been here for about a month now,” said Okuliar, who is a native of Slovakia but spent the past two seasons playing for Mountfield HK in the Czech Extraliga.

“It is better for me, being on the ice here and getting used to things. There are new drills, well, everything is kind of new to me practically. It has been good. I should be more experienced than some of the players who have been playing in juniors, I have been playing against older players and some who had played here in North America. You get to see how they work, see their work ethic, and that has been important to me to build up my game.”

The Panthers will open training camp in Fort Lauderdale next Thursday morning, with a number of players in this showcase being part of it.

Only a few of them have a realistic chance of cracking what is a very tight roster.

For players like Okuliar and Hovorka, a strong start in these three games — which will be watched very closely by Florida’s decision-makers — could be a boon to their prospects in the weeks before Florida whittles things down to 23 for its opener Oct. 8 against the Bruins.

“It is probably on me, playing well,” Okuliar said. “But you have to focus on the game, work on your game and do things for the team. If coach picks me for whatever moment, that is what I am working for 100 percent.”

Nashville Predators Rookie Showcase Schedule

At Ford Ice Center; Bellevue, Tennessee

• Friday: Nashville vs. Florida, 3 p.m.; Carolina vs. Tampa Bay, 6
• Saturday: Carolina vs. Florida, 3; Nashville vs. Tampa Bay, 6
• Monday: Florida vs. Tampa Bay, 11 a.m.; Nashville vs. Carolina, 2 p.m.

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UP NEXT FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

• NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
• Florida Panthers Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale: Starts Sept. 19
• Florida Panthers Preseason: Sept. 22-Oct. 5
• Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Oct. 8 vs. Bruins (ESPN)