And the Panthers Pick...

With the first pick in the 2nd round, the Florida Panthers select goaltender Jacob Markstrom, from the Swedish Elite League. The 6 foot 3 inch, 18 year old is ranked #1 among European goalies, and led Sweden's U-18 team to a gold medal in the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial. He beat Sweden in the final, and even denied #1 overall draft pick Steve Stamkos in overtime. Said Scott Luce, the Panthers' director of amateur scouting, "We got a guy projected as a franchise elite, No. 1 goalie... For him to slip to No. 31? It’s a good day for us."

Then, the Panthers traded their newly acquired 49th pick plus a 4th round pick in next year's draft to Nashville, and in return moved up to the #46 spot. The Cats used that pick to select defenseman Colby Robak. Robak, who was ranked #13 by Central Scouting, goes 6'3", 195 lbs, and spent last season in the Western Hockey League. Playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings, he played in 71 games and scored 30 points (6 goals).


It looks like the Panthers are gung-ho on solidfying their blueline. With plenty of young talent up front, with the likes of Frolik, Matthias, Booth, Weiss, Horton... the Cats are shoring up the goal stoppers as opposed to the goal scorers. We'll see how much of a chance Robak actually has to make the roster, considering the trades we made yesterday. The 'tender, however, sounds like a sure-fire backup plan to Vokoun in the coming seasons. With the success of Marc Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh (and even Ty Conklin backing him up), young netminders are definately moving up in the world. Markstrom even went 2-0 against Ol' Eddie Belfour in the Swedish Elite League last year. That's gotta be a good sign, right?

As of now, we don't pick again until #80, but moves are being made left and right, so stay tuned.