Posts About "Willie Mitchell"
Florida Panthers Next Captain?
August 19th, 2016 The Florida Panthers will have a very important decision to make in the near future. Who will be the team's next captain? There are several nice options within the current group. They could go with experience, or they could go to a younger payer with an eye toward the future. Unfortunately, former Captain Willie Mitchell has had...
Zach Bogosian Penned Letter About Willie Mitchell as a Kid
August 5th, 2016 Buffalo Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian posted a letter to Twitter on Thursday that he wrote at age eight. The letter was penned about a game he attended with his dad, at which a Willie Mitchell shot shattered the glass near their seats. It clearly left an impression on him. Young Bogosian was no worse for the wear when the glass...
Devils Draft Pick Gems
June 25th, 2016 Drafts are not won in the lottery portion. They can however be lost, especially if a team chooses the wrong franchise player instead of a generational player. The most successful teams are built by finding those diamonds in the rough. Those teams have a keen eye for talent in the trenches. In the salary cap era, it has never been more...
Florida Panthers Captain Willie Mitchell on Thin Ice
March 24th, 2016 The Florida Panthers are in a desperate race for a division title but it now appears they may have to soldier on without captain Wille Mitchell, whose long term health could be in question if he returns to the ice. News of Mitchell's dilemma surfaced Thursday ahead of a critical contest against the Boston...
Isles Missing Piece May Be Hard to Get
October 25th, 2015 The New York Islanders have come out of the gates well so far this season (4-2-1 heading into the October 24th game at St. Louis). The Islanders appear ready to take the next step in becoming a contending team in the Eastern Conference. They are well built for the regular season, as they have depth and talent in all three areas....
Comparing Kings' Previous Signings to Ehrhoff and Budaj
August 30th, 2015 Christian Ehrhoff and the Los Angeles Kings agreed to a one-year deal while goalie Peter Budaj signed a professional tryout contract with the team this last week to bolster the depth of the Kings roster. But the timing and relevance to these deals draw uncanny comparisons to successful moves Kings GM Dean Lombardi has done in the past,...
Canucks' Seven Best Free-Agent Signings in Past Decade
July 17th, 2015 The NHL summer-signing season and the open-player market means teams, and more so their fans, are always trying to find ways to improve their roster. While most signings don't make a team better overnight, and many hyped players often never live up to it, there's always some that manage to do just that for an organization. Whether it's...
Can Aaron Ekblad Avoid the Sophomore Slump?
July 1st, 2015 A Season for the Ages When the Florida Panthers drafted Barrie Colts defenseman Aaron Ekblad first overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, they had a pretty good idea of what they were getting. Ekblad was billed from the start as one of the few "NHL-ready" players in that draft class, and he certainly didn't disappoint. View image |...
Panthers Season Must Be Viewed As a Success
April 6th, 2015 In the National Hockey League, a team’s success is often measured by how late they play into the month of April. A playoff berth for a team usually means that the season went well since they are finishing in the top half of their respective conference. For some teams, a playoff berth is only the first step on their pursuit towards the...
The Most Underrated Defense in the NHL
March 12th, 2015 The most underrated defense in the NHL resides in South Florida. Surprised? You shouldn't be.
Flyers Backcheck: Opportunity Knocks to No Answer
November 2nd, 2014 Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers has become the microcosm of the Flyers of this year and last. It's one step forward, two steps back. With a golden opportunity to keep pace with, or stay ahead of Metropolitan Division foes, the orange and black wrapped up their sunny road trip with another whiff. And that doesn't even begin to...
More than Just Skill? Choosing a Captain in the NHL
October 7th, 2014 With four teams recently announcing a new direction in on-ice leadership, there's no denying that the league's crop of captains make up a diverse group of players. But what goes into choosing a captain at the highest level in hockey? Is it skill? Is it experience? Or is it a culmination of traits that hinge on a team's...
Are The LA Kings Facing An Identity Crisis?
September 22nd, 2014 Coming off their second Stanley Cup championship in three years and returning almost their entire roster, everything looks great on the surface for the Los Angeles Kings heading into the 2014-15 season. Expectations are high for what has become a perennial NHL powerhouse. So wouldn't it seem absurd to think that the defending champs...
