Panthers Sign Huberdeau

  Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon announced Monday that the Florida Panthers have signed 3rd overall draft pick of the NHL Entry Draft, Jonathan Huberdeau to a three-year entry-level contract. Huberdeau was one of the highest sought after forwards in the draft, and will surely be a star at the NHL level. The Panthers have since returned the 18 year-old to St. John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for further development.

“We are pleased to have signed Jonathan,” said Tallon. “He is a proven winner who leads by example both on and off the ice. He is a great two-way player who shows passion for the game and makes players around him better. Jonathan had an excellent pre-season and we look forward to his progress this season with Saint John.”

  Huberdeau wasted no time as he broke into the NHL preseason with flying colors. In five games, he netted three goals and added one assist. He led the Panthers in goals through the preseason, and tied Tomas Fleischmann and Dimitry Kulikov in points with four.

  The St. Jerome, Quebec native has a knack for putting points up. In 128 games through two seasons with St. John he has scored a whopping 58 goals and 82 assists for 140 points and a +87 rating. His overall post season performance is no different, as in 40 total games he has registered 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points and a +24 rating.

  His 2010-2011 performance saw the 18 year-old rocket up the charts in draft-class status as he had his best year yet with the St. John Sea Dogs. In 67 regular season games he tallied 43 goals and 62 assists for 105 points and a +59 rating. He helped lead the Sea Dogs to the championship as he tallied another 16 goals and 30 points with a +13 rating in just 19 games.

  In his first two games with the Sea Dogs of 2011-2012, he has picked up right where he left off as he has one goal and four assists already.

"He's still not the fastest, but I'd certainly label him the craftiest on our team," Saint John coach Gerard Gallant told NHL.com. "He's a quality, character kid. He competes both ways, battles for those goals around the net and competes hard in every situation.

"His vision is outstanding, he has great puck skills and I think he's the complete package."

  Panthers fans may be beating their heads against the wall to not have the youngster’s services on the team for this season, but the move by Dale Tallon was a wise one. Huberdea, who stands at 6’1 171lbs., will only benefit from another year of strengthening and development – pushing himself physically and mentally to make the cut at the conclusion of next year’s training camp. Besides his need to develop a bit more, the Panthers themselves need to develop. The team has been going through re-tooling for years now, as GM Tallon – still new to the scene – tries to right the sinking ship in Florida.

  Huberdeau’s God-given ability leaves him with blessed hands. He can handle the puck like not many 18 year-olds can, find open skaters for tape-to-tape passes, or run the puck to the net and score himself with ease. He is a truly dynamic talent, and the Panthers have done nothing but add to their wealth of young talent waiting in the shadows.

  There isn’t much doubt Huberdeau will make the roster next year and be inserted into the lineup in the top six forwards. As he did in the preseason, I’m equally positive he will contend for the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year.

  Huberdeau finds himself at the top of a very impressive list of young talents within the Panthers organization, an organization that could have a historic turnaround in very short order. The team has a very smart manager in Dale Tallon, the honest builder of the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup winning team. With his smarts and his staff’s picks, the panthers could go from zero to hero quicker than anyone thought.

- Kendall Grubbs