Three Panthers to Watch at 2025 Prospects Showcase Tournament

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Next week, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will formally hit the ice for training camp at the Baptist Health IcePlex in preparation for what they hope to be as successful of a season as the previous two. 

Before the big boys come together as one, the next generation of Panthers hopefuls skated at the IcePLex on Thursday morning ahead of the 2025 Prospects Showcase, which is set to take place Sept. 12-15 at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, FL.

When the Panthers prospects take on their counterparts from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes systems over the weekend, here’s three players I’d pay close attention to. 

F, Jack Devine

Of all the prospects within the Panthers’ pipeline, 21-year-old forward Jack Devine is the one Florida fans have been eager to see — and they are right. 

A former standout and two-time National Champion  at the University of Denver, Devine’s offensive touch — specifically his playmaking ability — is the biggest asset of his game.

When Devine’s collegiate career came to an end last April, he joined Florida’s AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers near the end of the regular season and stuck around for their run to the Calder Cup Final, playing in seven games throughout the postseason. 

“It was awesome,” Devine said of his experience in Charlotte. “The way the guys welcomed me into the team, [it] made me feel like a player from day one.”

Like the rest of the prospects that will be featured in this list, the biggest downside of being in the system of a consistent contending team — or in this case the back-to-back Stanley Cup winners — like the Panthers means there’s really no room for a youngster to crack the lineup. But, the process is key and Devine is tracking to be on a similar path to another American forward who went from college to Charlotte before becoming a Stanley Cup champion.

“I look at Samo (Mackie Samoskevich) — the year he had with us in Charlotte,” Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear said on Thursday when asked about Devine joining his team last season. “[Mackie] got to be a part of the taxi squad here [in Florida], watch the games. The hunger those guys have to have a positive impact to win in the end, it’s priceless.”

F, Gracyn Sawchyn

Those within the Panthers organization have high hopes for 2023 second-round pick Gracyn Sawchyn. 

Clocking in at 6-foot, 154 pounds, the 20-year-old’s measurements don’t exactly jump out at you. However, his presence on the ice will certainly get your attention. 

Before returning to the WHL last year, Sawchyn and fellow Albertan Hunter St. Martin — then both 19-years-old — stuck around at the Panthers main camp far longer than what was initially expected of the two junior-eligible players. 

“Every year it’s been a little bit different,” said Sawchyn, who is set to play in his third Prospects Showcase. “The biggest thing for me is just trying to play a mature game. Do that this weekend and hopefully carry that on into training camp with the big guys.”

His poise and confidence with the puck is as good as it gets for someone in the Panthers system. He can feather a tight-window pass to an open man, walk a defender and rip the puck — which is why he scored 30 times in 54 games last season with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

F, Hunter St. Martin 

Like Devine and Sawchyn, 20-year-old Hunter St. Martin is entering his first professional season and I think he’ll be just fine making the jump to the next level.

At the last Prospects Showcase, St. Martin stole the show, scoring in every single game before getting the call to main camp with the defending Stanley Cup champions. 

After a successful training camp,  he returned to the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL), where he scored 39 goals in the regular season and eight more between the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup. 

“The long season, the playoffs, that’s a huge experience to have,” St. Martin said when speaking of his final junior season. “Those grinding games in the finals, you’re in your 90th game of the year in the Memorial Cup. It’s just finding ways to win those hockey games… your body maybe doesn’t want to go but you have to find a way and just grind it out.

“I think that’s a really good experience to have heading into pro because that’s what it’s going to be like late in those seasons.”

Based off line rushes at Thursday’s prospects skate, expect St. Martin to start the showcase alongside Devine and Sawchyn. 

Prospects Showcase Schedule 

Game 1 – Friday, Sept. 12: Carolina vs. Florida, 2 p.m. ET

Game 2 – Saturday, Sept. 13: Tampa Bay vs. Florida, 5 p.m. ET

Game 3 – Monday, Sept. 15: Nashville vs. Tampa Bay, 12 p.m. ET

Games can be streamed on FloridaPanthers.com