NHL Prospect Watch: Florida Panthers
Ahead of the 2024-25 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. Throughout the series, we’ll highlight WHLers who have been signed to an NHL contract, were recently drafted, or are included in the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
Today, we focus on the prospect pool of the 2024 Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
Marek Alscher
Czech defender Marek Alscher found consistent success on a dangerous Portland Winterhawks squad in 2023-24. The 20-year-old buried seven goals and tacked on 19 assists for a career-best 26 points and a +32 rating in 57 games. He scored his first WHL Playoff goal against Everett in Game 2 of their second-round series and added and assist to boot on the same night. Alscher finished the postseason with a pair of goals and three assists in 18 games. Over three seasons in major junior, he’s accumulated 22 goals and 44 assists for 66 points in 178 matches. The 6-foot-3, 198-pound blueliner was selected by Florida with the 93rd pick in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft before signing his entry-level contract the following spring. He appeared in six games for Czechia at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship this winter, helping his country win a bronze medal.
Czech out the wheels on this guy! 💨
Marek Alscher brings the Hawks within one! pic.twitter.com/cfnIPTZWjL
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) February 1, 2024
Josh Davies
Menacing forward Josh Davies excelled in his first season in Portland after being traded west from the Swift Current Broncos. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound 20-year-old scored a career-best 36 goals and 25 assists for 61 points and a +16 rating in 55 games. His season included a 14-game point streak (11 goals, 11 assists) and a three-goal, one-assist outing against Kamloops on November 8. The Airdrie, Alta. product put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level contract on December 7, 2023, after being chosen with the 186th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In his first-ever trip to the WHL Playoffs, Davies netted five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games. Major performances included a one-goal, two-assist night in a 6-5 win over Victoria to force the Royals to the brink of elimination and a major goal in double overtime to eliminate Prince George and send the Winterhawks to the WHL Championship Series.
JOSH DAVIES WINS IT IN DOUBLE OVERTIME TO SEND THE @PDXWINTERHAWKS TO THE #WHLCHAMPIONSHIP SERIES!#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture | @FlaPanthers | #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/9zlDKKTfTE
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 7, 2024
Oliver Okuliar
Panthers General Manager Bill Zito signed undrafted free agent Oliver Okuliar to an entry-level deal in mid-April after a strong campaign in the Czech Extraliga in 2023-24. The 23-year-old is coming off of his second season with Mountfield HK, where he put up 24 goals and 21 assists for 45 points in 52 games. Okuliar led the team in goals and points and ranked second in penalty minutes (53). The Trencin, Slovakia product strung together 33 goals and 35 assists for 68 points in 55 games with Lethbridge in 2019-20, which included impressive back-to-back hat tricks on a Manitoba road trip. Okuliar has also represented Slovakia at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, the 2020 U20 World Junior Championship and the 2018 U18 World Junior Championship.
Tréner Ramsay vytiahol do presilovky v predĺžení variantu bez brankára. Vyšlo mu to, o výhre 4:3pp rozhodol takto Oliver Okuliar. Za toho som extra rád po hejtoch, čo sa objavili. pic.twitter.com/l3qECY4amf
— Tomáš Prokop (@Lewysko) February 8, 2024
Gracyn Sawchyn
Fresh off of being drafted 63rd overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, centreman Gracyn Sawchyn got a change of scenery with an early-season trade from Seattle to Edmonton to join the Oil Kings for 2023-24. The 19-year-old finished the season with a career-best 19 goals and 45 assists for 64 points in 54 games. The Grande Prairie, Alta. product has averaged a point a game or higher in all three WHL seasons he’s played. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound forward finished second on the Oil Kings in points and assists. His most dominant performance came with the T-Birds in an early-season tilt against Red Deer that saw Sawchyn pot two goals and three assists in a 5-2 victory. He previously put up 58 points (18 goals, 40 assists) in 58 regular season matches with the Thunderbirds in 2022-23 and had 11 playoff points (three goals, eight assists) en route to capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Sawchyn is also the first-ever player selected in the WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
You get a bear! And you get a bear! Everyone gets a bear!@FlaPanthers prospect Gracyn Sawchyn gets the Teddy Bear Toss goal for the @SeattleTbirds! pic.twitter.com/8AlKB4sFQ2
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 3, 2023
Justin Sourdif
2022 WHL Champion Justin Sourdif made his NHL debut in 2023-24, suiting up for three games with the Panthers. While he didn’t stick around with the big club, he improved on his AHL rookie totals with the Charlotte Checkers in all major statistical categories. The 5-foot-11, 172-pound forward netted 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points and a +8 rating through 58 games- adding another goal in three Calder Cup Playoff matches. Sourdif was selected 87th overall in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and has grown steadily since hearing his name called. Checkers Head Coach Geordie Kinnear has noted Sourdif’s ability to take faceoffs or play wing, increased minutes and ability to play in all situations. Sourdif spent parts of five seasons in the WHL, which featured two runs to the WHL Championship Series. He helped the Vancouver Giants reach the big dance in 2019 and finally broke through as a member of the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022. The Richmond, B.C. product eclipsed the 20-goal mark three times and finished his major junior career with 86 goals and 119 assists for 205 points in 199 games.
Justin Sourdif tallies the OT GWG for his eighth of the season. @CheckersHockey | #SJvsCLT pic.twitter.com/xhNHg9eAsh
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) January 17, 2024
Hunter St. Martin
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Hunter St. Martin made his way onto the NHL draft board when Florida selected him with the 193rd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-2, 174-pound winger is coming off a strong season that saw him crack the 20-goal mark for the first time, collecting 24 goals and 28 assists and a +14 rating while suiting up for all 68 games. The 19-year-old led the Tigers with three shorthanded goals and netted his first WHL hat trick against the Tri-City Americans on January 6. St. Martin was also one of the most effective Tigers in the postseason, adding a goal and four assists in five tilts against the Red Deer Rebels.
"Gotta blast 🏎️ "
– Hunter St. Martin, probably.@tigershockey pic.twitter.com/FsCGbOg5k9
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 18, 2024
