Colby Guy
With Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour out with injuries to start the season, the Florida Panthers needed to find multiple defensemen suitable to hold things down.
And they found one of their best somewhere they may have least expected it.
Florida’s pro scouts found Uvis Balinskis in the Czechia Extraliga, where he led all defensemen in points with 35 in 50 games last year.
Little did they know how quickly the 27-year-old would fit in at the NHL level.
“You get a big advantage being 27 because you’re filled out, you’re as strong as you’re going to be and you have ben through enough difficult times in hockey that you can mentally handle that,” coach Paul Maurice said.
“The challenge then is that you have been playing pro hockey a certain style for basically your entire career. But his individual style of game back home looked like it could fit the NHL game.
“He has some quickness there, he has some puck movement. He is physical here because the rink is smaller but he was willing to be physical there when he had an opportunity. For a skilled guy, he has a lot of bite and a lot of intensity and he has been a surprise.”
Balinskis beat out a pack of players with NHL experience to make the Panthers’ opening-night roster and carved out a role for himself ever since.
He has yet to record his first NHL point in nine career games, but his play in the defensive zone has stood out.
And Florida’s system has played a big role in helping him feel comfortable in the NHL.
“I always try to play my game and do my job on defense,” Balinskis told FHN. “If it’s possible, I jump on offense and help the forwards, too. That’s the way I like to play and I try to do it here too.”
Florida’s free-flowing system favoring defensemen who jump into the rush offensively favors the wide-open style of play Balinskis had in the bigger rinks of Europe.
With the condensed nature of the North American game, the biggest things he had to adjust to were the speed of the game and the intensity of it.
In Europe’s bigger rinks, it is common for players to have more room to methodically operate on offense because of the amount of room they have to work with.
Defensemen rarely get involved in battles in the corners because of how much room there is out there.
But after a challenging week of training camp under Maurice, Balinskis quickly stood out as one of the fittest defensemen at camp and eased into the North American game.
“I had to adjust to the speed and the quickness of the game,” Balinskis said. “That was the one thing I had to adjust to the most. There are all of the skilled guys I have to be aware of too, but the speed and the quickness of the game was the biggest thing I had to adjust to.”
It did not take Balinskis long to do so compared to other players who have made the jump.
“He’s been very good for us. He has some skills offensively, he holds onto the puck, and he’s a great skater,” fellow European defenseman Gus Forsling said.
“It’s really impressive. I did it too and it was really hard. It was a lot. Not just the size of the rink, but overall, the game over here is different. So it’s really impressive… I think he’s gonna be a good player for us.”
Balinskis arrived at training camp in September, endured Maurice’s notoriously hard five days of it, and came out looking like a bonafide NHL defenseman.
“He’s adapted incredibly well,” Maurice said.
“From his last two exhibition games, he was incredibly noticeable. His willingness to get involved in plays and not just sit back and watch the game and play it safe. I don’t find him overly risky because he’s completed almost every play he’s tried to make but he’s been aggressive. He jumps into holes and he gets down the walls on the forecheck, so there’s definitely something there.
“You don’t want to put a ceiling on him but we know he can generate offense because he has over the course of his career. The game that he plays now tells us that he will eventually be able to generate offense but in waiting for that to happen, he’s playing a pretty good all-around game.”
PANTHERS ON DECK
FLORIDA PANTHERS @ CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
- When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
- Where: United Center, Chicago
- TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN+
- Radio: WPOW 96.5 FM-2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL/Panthers App
- Last Season: Tied 1-1
- This season: @Chicago, Saturday; @Florida, Sunday Nov. 12
- All-time regular season series: Blackhawks lead 28-18-4, 3 ties
- Up Next for the Panthers: Monday vs. Columbus, 7 p.m.