Kai Schwindt

Remember, we talked about how important it is to disrupt the entry passes? That happened consistently.

When Kai Schwindt tried to feed Volmanes, the Tampa forwards were all over him.

It forced turnovers that led to counterattacks.

Exactly.

But can one player carry the load when half the roster is on the sidelines? Let's talk about who steps up in segment two, key players and line combinations.

I think the spotlight falls heavily on Kai Schwindt.

He had a goal and an assist in the last game.

He's playing on the first line, which means he's facing the best defensive matchups.

I like it.

3-1 acknowledges the strength of the roster while respecting the holes in the lineup.

And for individual performance? I'm still betting on Kai Schwindt to record two points.

He's hot and he's getting the prime minutes.

But if something happens with Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones or Radko Gudis it's probably going to be Alexander Petrovich which once again the fact that they gave the one-way contract to Alexander Petrovich chances of him getting claimed are highly unlikely and the Panthers are putting the money where their mouth is as we spoke about during the summer when it came to all these one-way contracts that they made but Like I mentioned with some of the forwards, there's a lot of guys who are going to be disappointed, and the fact that there's a short camp for some of these guys to prove themselves, you really got to – I'm really anticipating what some of these guys could possibly prove themselves.

It's funny because the guys who really did prove themselves are guys who are waivers-exempt like Kai Schwindt Hunter, Hunter St. Martin as Hunter St. Martin.

We saw the, the great camp that he had in 2024 after the, after the Florida Panthers won the cup and drafted them in the sixth round.

And then him and Grayson Sachin were showing out in that D camp.

Remember, in previous episodes, we discussed his potential shift to the wing.

Does that move make sense now, given the injuries on the left side? We have Shea Buess, Angus Kruikshank, Carson Dorwart, Bokanji Emama, Cole Reinhart, Kai Schwindt, Hunter St.

Martin, Sandis Velmanis, and Stepen Zvijan available as wingers.

It's a massive question mark.

Angus Crookshank, Jonah Gadjovich, and Bo Kanjamama are all on the roster.

But I suspect we'll see Cole Reinhart or Kai Schwindt getting significant training camp looks.

These are young, hungry players.

Maurice might lean on veterans like Garnet Hathaway for physicality, but the speed will come from the younger group.