Florida Panthers: 2 Underrated Players To Watch

The NHL has so many underrated players who deserve far more recognition. In this segment, we will be discussing two from every team in the league. Their overall roles and abilities may differ, but they all share the common theme that they are not as respected as they ought to be.

For full transparency, two teams will be randomly picked from a wheel each day. The winners will then be discussed.

The Florida Panthers will be leading off this segment. They have two legitimate superstars in Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau who no longer seem to be underrated at this point. Thus, we will be discussing two important defensemen who are extremely integral to their roster. Furthermore, there will be a few honorable mentions who also fit the description. This is a team who has a plethora of options at the end of the day.

Aaron Ekblad D: The praise Barkov and Huberdeau is entirely warranted, but Aaron Ekblad deserves just as much. The 2014 first overall pick has become a very solid all-around defenseman and fantastic leader. In 35 games this past season, he quietly scored 11 goals and recorded 22 points. He did this while remaining very dependable in his own end. Without Ekblad leading their blueline, the Panthers would be a far weaker team. He's such a well-round player. Thus, his importance should be noted far more regularly by all hockey fans.

MacKenzie Weegar D: Some people may not realize just how well MacKenzie Weegar played this past season with the Panthers. He had a breakout year, as he had six goals and 36 points in 54 games. For better reference, he only had 18 points in 45 games the previous season. He also was in the rumor mill last off-season, which is funny to think about now. The Panthers clearly made the right call keeping him around. Weegar is somebody who fans should start paying very close to attention to, as he is becoming a big part of the Panthers. It will be intriguing to see how the 2013 seventh-round pick does this go-around.

Honorable Mentions: Carter Verhaeghe, Markus Nutivaara, Anthony Duclair