Once again all that is left in March is to look forward to the NHL Draft after another disastrous season. In this quick post I just wanted to get your opinion on whether the Panthers should draft on need or best available player.
Most mock drafts have the Panthers taking Sam Bennett, the 6'0", 178 lbs., center from Kingston in the OHL. This is assuming the Panthers have the 3rd pick overall, which could change. While he is a very good player, the Panthers are stacked down the middle.
In the 5th spot, theoretically held by the Islanders, talented RW Nick Ritchie is slated to come off the board. If I'm Panthers GM Dale Tallon, this is a tough call.
RW is an serious area of need in the organization, and at 6'2", 230lbs., Ritchie fits the mold of strong, big, tough players Tallon has assembled over the years.
While Bennett and Ritchie are separated by only a few spots on talent charts, in a relatively weak draft they could be considered interchangeable based on team needs. In my opinion, Ritchie should be the slam dunk pick at 3 or later.
Here is some information on Ritchie from mynhldraft.com:
February 2014 - Nick Ritchie was named the Ontario Hockey League's Player of the Week (ending February 9th) after the big power forward muscled his way to six goals and eight points in four games. Ritchie's highlight performance was when he racked up five goals and six points factoring in on every Peterborough Petes goal in a 7-6 shootout loss to the Kingston Frontenacs on Friday, February 7th. His outstanding individual performance set a new personal career high for points (6) and his five goals established a new franchise record for the Peterborough Petes, a milestone that lasted since 1983. Ironically, Nick Ritchie's five-goal game was the first by a player since his older brother (Brett) tallied five versus the Niagara IceDogs on November 4th, 2012.
November 2013 - After returning from being sidelined for four games, Nick Ritchie fired off four goals and six points in a three-game span to return with a vengeance. The big winger has battled staying healthy early in his young career but few players are as dominating as Ritchie when he's playing a full health. Ritchie remains a potential top 10 prospect for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and currently leads Peterborough in scoring with 18 points through 16 contests, including a team high 10 goals. Profile from: Brendan Ross of Dobber Prospects - Feb. 15th
@IssHockey - "Dominating power fwd & key to Petes offense. Elite puck protection & offensive tools" - Nov. 28th, 2013
If the Panthers somehow lucked into the first pick they lost to the Avalanche last year, then it would be a different story.
Sam Reinhart is widely considered the best player of this draft, and although he is also listed as a center Tallon would have to take him. When considering Reinhart and Bennett, how and if they could effectively convert to wing would play a large part in their attractiveness to the Panthers. Usually it is easier to move from center to wing than vice versa. Reinhart, 6'1", 185 lbs., is also a bit bigger than Bennett.
In the #2 spot is defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who is slated to go to the Oilers at this time. That would make sense since they need to secure the blue line to compliment their young talented forwards. With so many quality defensemen in the Panthers organization it would be hard to believe they would go anywhere but offense with the first pick of this draft. Look for Tallon to trade out of this but stay in the top 5 if another team really covets Ekblad.
Regardless, another big piece of the future in Florida will be added in this year's draft. For the sake of debate, if the Panthers sit at the third pick, who should they take?
As always your comments and input are appreciated.
Dan Spiegel... Florida Panthers Media Follow me on Twitter Join the Florida Panthers Insiders FB Page Connect with me on Google Plus