Latest news with #AntonLundell
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Grading Panthers' 2025 NHL Draft class
The post Grading Panthers' 2025 NHL Draft class appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Florida Panthers are your two-time defending champions. This is an incredible feat, and one they look to build upon. This success comes with a price, however. Florida never has premium draft capital once the NHL Draft rolls around. The 2025 NHL Draft was no different for Florida. They had six total picks, but all of them came after the third round. Advertisement The Panthers have had a ton of success drafting and developing players, though. In fact, some of their best players are talents they selected. Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad are names all hockey fans know. Anton Lundell appears to be a promising building block for this team, as well. Florida added six players to its organization on Saturday. But how does this class look on paper coming out of the 2025 NHL Draft? Let's take a deeper look at this class and hand the Panthers an initial grade for their efforts. Panthers find potential in first 3 picks The Panthers did not make their first selection until 112th overall in the fourth round. With this selection, they picked Mads Kongsbak Klyvø, a Danish winger out of Frölunda HC in Sweden. He brings some intriguing upside to the table, and many evaluators considered him one of the more underrated European skaters in this class. He presents as a mostly defensive option, but some around the game like his offense and think it can be developed more. Advertisement Their next pick came a bit later at 128. Florida elected to take Shea Busch, a winger from the WHL's Everett Silvertips. Busch impressed after joining Everett during the season. He is a mostly a net-front presence who will throw the body, as well. One pick later, the Panthers selected North Bay Batallion winger Shamar Moses. Moses may have the most upside of the three. He has an excellent shot and impressive awareness on the ice. He also plays a physical brand of hockey that will translate to the Panthers quite well. None of these three players project as top-six options for Florida. Moses has a chance to be a middle-six scorer, but this is the best-case scenario. All three of them do project to play NHL games, however. For a team like Florida, having young depth players to rely on is key when the established vets reach NHL Free Agency and cash in on their work in Sunrise. Florida takes major gambles with last selections Florida's final three selections do not carry the same upside. There are fans of the team's 192nd overall pick — Swedish forward Arvid Drott — but he doesn't bring anything that flashes NHL potential. Defenseman Brendan Dunphy has some intriguing tools, but his skating needs significant work if he's going to make it. Advertisement Florida's final pick of the draft fits their type in goal. The Panthers drafted Russian goalie Yegor Midlak with the 224th overall pick. Midlak has some intriguing physical tools. However, he is a major work in progress at this time. Overall, these picks don't hurt the Panthers. They were unlikely to ever get high-end talent in these later rounds. However, they need to prioritize players who show some semblance of NHL potential. Clearly, the Panthers believe in these players. Far be it from pundits to say they are wrong. In saying that, these are massive gambles, and it does take the grade down a bit. Grade and final thoughts Overall, the Panthers receive an average grade for the 2025 NHL Draft class. Florida did not get the most potential in their class. But their aims are a lot different than other teams. They are searching for players who project to make an impact at the NHL level. And they landed those sorts of players with exactly half of their draft picks. Advertisement Will anyone from this class come close to the NHL? It's obviously way too early to say. But there is potential for this class to make a difference in some sort of role. Moses could become a middle-six scorer, for instance. Some evaluators believe Klyvø has untapped offensive potential, as well. There could be some untapped potential that makes these guys late-round gems. However, the final three picks require a lot of work. If there's any team that can afford to be patient, it is the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions who show no signs of slowing down. At the same time, they need NHL projectable players to help keep this train rolling. They missed out on that with some of these late picks. Panthers draft grade: C Best pick: Shamar Moses – Round 5, Pick 129 Worst pick: Yegor Midlak – Round 7, Pick 224 Related: Sam Bennett breaks silence on $64 million contract extension with Panthers Related: Panthers' Sam Bennett signs mammoth 8-year, $64 million contract extension
New York Times
27-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Florida Panthers NHL Draft guide: Picks, best fits and analysis
The Florida Panthers have five picks in the 2025 NHL Draft: Nos. 112, 128, 129, 192, 224. Here's what to expect. Florida has sold almost every major pick and prospect it had in recent years to win now. The Panthers do at least have some young forwards of interest in Anton Lundell and Mackie Samoskevich. There's nothing coming on defense, though, and there hasn't been for a while. In recent mock drafts, Corey Pronman has projected the following picks: 112. Luke Mistelbacher, RW 128. Mans Goos, G 129. Lirim Amidovski, RW 160. Aron Dahlqvist, D 192. Mikkel Eriksen, C 224. Richard Zemlicka, C (Photo of Panthers GM Bill Zito: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Panthers shoot Anton Lundell's shot with model Sommer Ray in wild Stanley Cup celebrations
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Anton Lundell's Panthers teammates tried to get model Sommer Ray's attention on his behalf, Image 2 shows Sommer Ray boasts more than 23 million Instagram followers, Image 3 shows (From left) Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell celebrated the Panthers' Stanley Cup victory on June 19, 2025 The back-to-back Stanley Cup champs are shooting their shots off the ice. Star Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk put in a good word for teammate Anton Lundell to model Sommer Ray on Friday after it was revealed the brunette beauty took up space in captain Aleksander Barkov's Instagram search history. Advertisement 'Sorry for bothering you @SommerRay … but our friend Anton Lundell says hi!! Great guy,' Tkachuk, 27, said of his 23-year-old teammate in a post on X. Anton Lundell's Panthers teammates tried to get model Sommer Ray's attention on his behalf. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sommer Ray boasts more than 23 million Instagram followers. Sommer Ray/Instagram The intriguing series of events began last week after the Panthers took down the Oilers for the second straight year in the Stanley Cup Final. Barkov, who has been captain of the Panthers since 2018, went on an Instagram Live and alleged he only had two names in his search history: teammate Sam Reinhart and Ray. (From left) Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell celebrated the Panthers' Stanley Cup victory on June 19, 2025. Getty Images for E11EVEN Aleksander Barkov with teammate Anton Lundell during the Stanley Cup celebrations on June 22, 2025. Getty Images 'There's two names in the search column, Sommer Ray … and Sam Reinhart,' the 29-year-old began. 'Accidentally, I wanted to write Sam Reinhart… it came up as Sommer Ray.' Advertisement Barkov's comments naturally caught fire on social media, where Tkachuk slipped on his matchmaking shoes on Lowell's behalf. Ray, who boasts 1.3 million followers on X alone, has not publicly replied to Tkachuk's tweet as of Monday. Anton Lundell is a two-time Stanley Cup champ with the Panthers. Getty Images Sommer Ray is a model and DJ. Sommer Ray/Instagram The DJ and producer also has a whopping 23.3 million Instagram followers. This Panthers' victory lap has been one for the books. Florida, in its third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in as many years, defeated Edmonton in six and closed out the series with a 5-1 blowout victory at home last Tuesday. The Panthers defeated the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons. Getty Images Reinhart had four goals in the game-winner while Tkachuk scored one. Although the Cup was intact at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., that night, the bowl of the trophy was cracked hours later, with the bottom also dented. The celebrations continued Sunday during the championship parade in Fort Lauderdale.
New York Post
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Panthers shoot Anton Lundell's shot with model Sommer Ray in wild Stanley Cup celebrations
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champs are shooting their shots off the ice. Star Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk put in a good word for teammate Anton Lundell to model Sommer Ray on Friday after it was revealed the brunette beauty took up space in captain Aleksander Barkov's Instagram search history. 'Sorry for bothering you @SommerRay … but our friend Anton Lundell says hi!! Great guy,' Tkachuk, 27, said of his 23-year-old teammate in a post on X. Advertisement 7 Anton Lundell's Panthers teammates tried to get model Sommer Ray's attention on his behalf. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images 7 Sommer Ray boasts more than 23 million Instagram followers. Sommer Ray/Instagram The intriguing series of events began last week after the Panthers took down the Oilers for the second straight year in the Stanley Cup Final. Advertisement Barkov, who has been captain of the Panthers since 2018, went on an Instagram Live and alleged he only had two names in his search history: teammate Sam Reinhart and Ray. 7 (From left) Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell celebrated the Panthers' Stanley Cup victory on June 19, 2025. Getty Images for E11EVEN 7 Aleksander Barkov with teammate Anton Lundell during the Stanley Cup celebrations on June 22, 2025. Getty Images Advertisement 'There's two names in the search column, Sommer Ray … and Sam Reinhart,' the 29-year-old began. 'Accidentally, I wanted to write Sam Reinhart… it came up as Sommer Ray.' Barkov's comments naturally caught fire on social media, where Tkachuk slipped on his matchmaking shoes on Lowell's behalf. Ray, who boasts 1.3 million followers on X alone, has not publicly replied to Tkachuk's tweet as of Monday. 7 Anton Lundell is a two-time Stanley Cup champ with the Panthers. Getty Images Advertisement 7 Sommer Ray is a model and DJ. Sommer Ray/Instagram The DJ and producer also has a whopping 23.3 million Instagram followers. This Panthers' victory lap has been one for the books. Florida, in its third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in as many years, defeated Edmonton in six and closed out the series with a 5-1 blowout victory at home last Tuesday. 7 The Panthers defeated the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons. Getty Images Reinhart had four goals in the game-winner while Tkachuk scored one. Although the Cup was intact at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., that night, the bowl of the trophy was cracked hours later, with the bottom also dented. The celebrations continued Sunday during the championship parade in Fort Lauderdale.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Panthers' Paul Maurice makes eye-opening ‘best' claim after winning Stanley Cup
The post Panthers' Paul Maurice makes eye-opening 'best' claim after winning Stanley Cup appeared first on ClutchPoints. After a long season full of ups and downs, the Florida Panthers are at the top of the mountain once again. Like they did so many times in these playoffs, the Panthers took control at the end of the series and won the Stanley Cup with a dominant 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6. Advertisement This Panthers team will be remembered for playing its best hockey when it really needed to, and the Cup Final was a perfect example of that. This is a team with both star power and depth, and now it is etched in history as back-to-back champions. After the series ended, Paul Maurice took it a step further when describing this 2024-25 group with a bold claim, via WSVN 7 News. 'Well, this is a heck of a team. This is the best team I've ever coached from a talent point of view,' Maurice said. 'Is Anton Lundell our third-line center? Because I think he's plus-20 in the playoffs. He's a brilliant young player. If that's your third line, you're gonna win a lot of games. Advertisement 'We're just very, very deep for sure. It's wonderful.' The Panthers showed off that depth and talent throughout the playoffs. After cruising through the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, Florida dominated the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road in both Games 5 and 7 to advance to the conference finals, where it made light work of the Carolina Hurricanes. Then, after the first four games of the Cup Final were very tightly contested and the series was tied at two, the Panthers tightened up again and showed the Oilers that they are in a different class. Maurice's club outscored Edmonton 10-3 over the last two games to get their hands on another Stanley Cup. The Panthers' depth is also exemplified by how many standout performers they had in the playoffs. Brad Marchand, Sergei Bobrovsky and eventual winner Sam Bennett all had convincing cases to win the Conn Smythe as the MVP of the playoffs, and that's even before getting to captain Aleksander Barkov, star forward Matthew Tkachuk or Sam Reinhart, who had four goals in Game 6. Advertisement The Panthers now have a difficult offseason ahead with some big-name free agents hitting the market. However, this team will go down in history as one of the best of this era after a dominant playoff run. Related: Brad Marchand's 8-word admission after Panthers' Stanley Cup victory will scare rest of the NHL Related: Panthers' Sam Bennett drops truth bomb on winning Conn Smythe Trophy
