Corey Pronman details what to expect from the Florida Panthers’ new prospects and how they fit into the farm system.
2024 Draft Grade: B-
Given the limited draft capital Florida had coming into the day, I thought they did great work navigating with trades and acquiring some real prospects. Linus Eriksson projects as a legit NHL center, and Matvei Shuravin projects as an NHL defenseman. I think Simon Zether has a real chance to play games. Given how barren their farm system was coming into today, Florida leaving with several quality prospects was much needed.
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Draft Class
58. Linus Eriksson, C, Djurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan)
March 23, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 190 pounds
Tier: Middle of the lineup player
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: Above NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Player comparable: Robby Fabbri
Analysis: Eriksson was a top player for a good J20 team this season in Sweden and a leader for Sweden’s U18 club. He wasn’t a dominant junior player but in the second half of the season, when he advanced to the Allsvenskan, he showed quite well versus men. He’s a well-rounded center. Eriksson is a strong skater who creates offense with speed and has the transition game to be a quality pro. He has very good skill and playmaking ability. He is a creative player with a pass-first mentality who sees seams well and can generate offense from the perimeter. Eriksson’s work ethic is good enough. I wouldn’t call him the type who is going to run over opponents, but he gets to the inside and gives an honest effort every night. He was also the captain for his Swedish age group. He could be a middle-six NHL forward.
97. Matvei Shuravin, LHD, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva (MHL)
March 22, 2006 | 6′ 2″ | 172 pounds
Tier: Middle of the lineup player
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Player comparable: Derek Forbort
Analysis: Shuravin’s production in Russia’s junior league won’t jump out at you, but he has a lot of traits that NHL teams will be looking for and has looked good versus juniors and men this season. He’s a 6-3, mobile defenseman with puck-moving skill, and those are always highly sought after. Shuravin has a low panic threshold and, with his skating, has a smooth, effortless game style that leads to a lot of puck possession for his team. He is good on retrievals and generates a lot of controlled exits and entries. Shuravin also competes well enough and doesn’t shy away from physical play.
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129. Simon Zether, C, Rögle BK J20 (J20 Nationell)
October 18, 2005 | 6′ 3″ | 187 pounds
Tier: Projected to play NHL games
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Below NHL average
Analysis: Zether was very good at the Swedish J20 level over the last two seasons, leading to a promotion to Rögle’s main team for most of the season. He was good for Sweden’s U18 team the prior season as an underager, but this season at the U19 level for Sweden he was very ordinary. Zether is a big center with legit offensive skills. He shows great creativity and tight-area play with the puck. He doesn’t have great speed, but he can beat defenders wide due to his hands, frame and willingness to attack the middle. He makes enough plays to be a strong junior scorer. Zether competes well and can play both ways. The big debate on him with scouts is the aforementioned skating issues. He is good enough to potentially overcome those issues and play in a bottom six, but he’ll need to score at a decent clip to do so while providing good defensive play.
169. Stepan Gorbunov, F, Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk (MHL)
August 11, 2006 | 6′ 5″ | 196 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average
Analysis: Gorbunov’s numbers won’t jump out at you, but he’s one of the better athletes in the draft. Gorbunov is a huge center at 6-foot-5 who skates quite well for a guy his size. At the junior level, he shows decent enough offensive touch to go with the ability to play two ways. His pure hockey sense and puck game for the NHL will be a question though. He’s so athletic that he’s worth a gamble, but he could take a while to develop.
193. Hunter St. Martin, LW, Medicine hat (WHL)
June 13, 2005 | 6’2″ | 174 pounds
201. Denis Gabdrakhmanov, G, Tyumenski (MHL)
6’3” | 187 pounds
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
