Monday, September 8, 2008

Panthers Rookie Camp

Rookie camp is set to kick off on Friday in Kitchener, Ontario and over the course of the four day camp, some of the Panthers' top prospects will go head to head against some of the best players within the Senators, Penguins and Maple Leafs organizations.

The Panthers' roster for rookie camp was announced some time ago and it includes Shawn Matthias, Michael Frolík, Michal Řepík and Keaton Ellerby, along with other promising young players like Kenndal McArdle and Brady Calla.

Three of the Cats' 2008 draft choices are on the roster, including Colby Robak (round 2, 46th overall), Adam Comrie (round 3, 80th overall) and A.J. Jenks (round 4, 100th overall). Additionally, all three players that were signed this offseason by Jacques Martin to add system depth are on the roster -- LW Andrew Sweetland (17 points in 28 games with the University of Maine) defenseman Jason Garrison (14 points in 26 with the University of Minnesota-Duluth) and the big 20 year old defenseman from the Oshawa Generals, James DeLory, who put up 20 points in 55 games and added ten fights to his OHL total.

There are also two players signed to ATOs that will be on the Panthers' rookie camp roster - wingers David Jarram and Danick Bouchard.

Jarram, a native of Kitchener, saw time with the Rochester Americans last season after signing an ATO with the Amerks in April. He's not much of an offensive threat, but he's a high energy player that hits hard and sticks up for his teammates, and that includes a willingness to drop the gloves, doing so twice in his six games with Rochester and eleven times during the season between Oshawa and Saginaw of the OHL.

Bouchard is an undrafted 22-year old who put up 96 points in his last season with Shawnigan of the QMJHL. After playing in one game with the AHL's Albany River Rats, he joined the Texas Wildcatters of the ECHL. While he's not the biggest of players, he showed from the start that he can score at a professional level by registering 13 goals and 6 assists in his first 19 games. Unfortunately, his season ended prematurely due to a broken leg. In August, the Florida Everblades signed Danick for the 2008-2009 season.

In goal for the Panthers, Tyler Plante and David Shantz. The Cats' first pick in the '08 Entry Draft, Jacob Markström, fully intends to finish his current contract with Brynäs in Sweden before deciding on his future with the Cats organization.

Lastly, rookie camp will feature the gritty Mike Duco. Duco has spent his junior career in Kitchener as a member of the hometown Rangers.

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