The Cats have agreed to terms with defensemen John Ludvig. it's a standard three-year, entry-level contract.
From the Panthers website:
""John had an outstanding season for Portland in the Western Hockey League and was among the league's top defensemen," said Tallon. "He is a talented defenseman who possesses great compete, physicality and character. We are excited for John's continued development and look forward to his future in the Panthers organization."
Ludvig, 19, appeared in 60 games with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL), producing 62 points (17-45-62). The 6-foot-1, 201-pound native of Liberec, Czech Republic, ranked third among all WHL defensemen in points and assists, while ranking fourth in goals. Ludvig's goals, assists and points totals marked WHL career-bests.
Serving in his first season as Portland's captain, Ludvig, helped lead his club to a league-best 45-11-3-4 record. He was originally selected by Florida in the third round (69th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft."
He certainly sounds promising and I hope Tallon's description of him being physical is accurate. Love the fact that he's a leader and wears the "C" for his club - which reflects that. Seems like he can lend a hand in the scoring department (45 assists is too sweet), which I'm cool with, just as long as he's not rushing up every play...
He promises us he's defense-first:
Here's some highlights of him from the 2018-19 season in Portland. Looks like he has a nice shot with some good vision, with a litte snarl.
In the good news department, the front office and Vinny V announced that the Panthers will continue to pay their full-time employees throughout the shutdown due to COVID-19.
From the Miami Herald:
"Vincent Viola is committed to continue paying Panthers full-time employees throughout the shutdown, a team spokesperson confirmed Friday. The owner told employees about his plan Friday, Bloomberg reported. The Panthers employ about 230 people.
'The specific directive from ownership was that no employee of the Florida Panthers will suffer economically from the coronavirus,' president Matthew Caldwell told Bloomberg."
Nice work, guys!
Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story
Quick heads up...Amazon Prime is currently streaming the Bob Probert documentary, so I checked it out this past weekend.
Have any of you seen it?
I thought it was OK. It felt like more of the same when it comes to his story: addiction battles and fighting. Both are two significant pieces to his lineage (obviously), but I was hoping for something a bit different.
The majority of it focuses on the drug and alcohol use/abuse and legal issues. A lot of it's really eye-opening, and it's pretty wild how he operated, but it glazes over his play and ability on the ice - which is what I was hoping it would delve into. Truthfully, I just found it kind of depressing.
Probert's story is a cautionary tale that most hockey fans know. It's a shame how a lot of the negatives overshadow what he could do on the ice, outside of physically pummeling the opposition.
Besides the fighting, the guy could play. I don't think notching 21 points (8 goal, 13 assists) in the playoffs to break Gordie Howe's club playoff points record was just by luck. He had a scoring touch and some skill to his game.
I hoped the documentary would go more into his ability, mindset, the fact that he was really in a league of his own with his size/strength at the time and the psychological warfare aspect (from the opposition's viewpoint and his teammates) when his imposing frame was in the lineup. I know Stu Grimson touches a little bit on it in the movie, but I was hoping for more.
If you guys have seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts...
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»