What the Florida Panthers should expect from Anton Lundell in Year 2

Anton Lundell surpassed almost every expectation the Florida Panthers had for him last season.

In 65 games, the 20-year-old forward from Espoo, Finland scored 18 goals and 44 points.

Lundell also developed into one of Florida’s top defensive-minded forwards.

Despite missing 17 games, Lundell finished fifth in points and sixth in goals among rookie skaters. He finished sixth in Calder Trophy voting for his efforts.

Lundell, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, joined the Panthers after a 2020-21 season in Finland where he put up 16 goals and 25 points in 26 games with HIFK.

He also scored 10 goals in seven games in the World Juniors and seven points in 10 games in the World Championship playing for Finland internationally.

When he arrived in North America, it was expected he would be battle-tested against professionals — as he had been playing in Finland’s top league since he was 17 — but he turned some heads very quickly after his arrival.