Florida Panthers: 2 Breakout Candidates For Next Season

With each season that passes, it seems as though every team has players who improve significantly. They often turn out to be prospects naturally, but players who have some experience in the league also can. In this segment, we will be looking at two potential breakout candidates from each team. We will also be setting a max age limit of 26 years old, so older players are not eligible for discussion.

The Florida Panthers will be the team of discussion in this one. Florida is coming off of a very solid season and are among the top teams in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have a plethora of breakout candidates. We will focus on two and then briefly bring up a few others. One player is a young forward trying to blossom into a top-six forward. The other is a player who found quick success with the Panthers and is looking to maintain it.

Owen Tippett RW: Owen Tippett did quite well in his first full season with the Florida Panthers. In 45 games, the 22-year-old winger scored seven goals and recorded 18 points. This could be a big year for the young forward, as he has the tools to be an effective scorer in this league. Keep in mind, they did draft him tenth overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. This is just the beginning of this kid's NHL career and with the Panthers continuing to get better, he should develop significantly.

Sam Bennett C: One could argue that Sam Bennett's breakout season immediately occurred when he was traded to Panthers. In 10 regular season games with the team, he scored six goals and had 15 points. He then followed that up with five points in five playoff games. However, with the Flames, he never had much offensive success and only had 12 points in 38 games with them before being dealt. Therefore, some hockey fans may have their doubts with him. Yet, this could very well be the year that he truly cements himself a top-six forward for years to come. It will be fun to see how he does during his first full season in Florida.

Honorable Mentions: Spencer Knight and Anton Lundell are worthy picks, but because they were talked about in our prospect piece, we decided to focus on those other two skaters. Prospects Grigori Denisenko and Aleksi Heponiemi should also be watched closely. It will fascinating to see how Carter Verhaeghe responds from his breakout season, too. There is simply a lot to look forward to with the Panthers.