Final Grade: Evgeny Dadonov

Each day we are going to give you the Final Grade on the Florida Panthers roster. The members here known as The Rat Pack will rotate daily until we have completed our assessment of bodies talent players. Today’s Final Grade Report is on Evgeny Dadonov

Grade: B+

GP   G   A   P  +/-

36    8   9  17   0

Evgeny Dadonov was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. A native of Russia, the forward is able to play either right or left wing and uses his superior speed to generate offence. Like many Russian players of his size (5′ 10″) who are fast, he is also very skilled at controlling the puck and has a wicked wrist shot.

There was some concern that Dadonov would not want to return to the NHL, when he could play in the KHL and earn more money…especially after the Panthers somewhat jerked him around the last few years.

More After the Jump

Dadonov told the Miami Herald:  “This year is much easier than last year. I can handle this much better because of what I went through last season. I came here to play NHL hockey and the AHL was that first step…I’m happy right now. Everything is going along to my plan.”

His combination of speed and skill is exactly what the Panthers have been lacking. He projects to be a top line player eventually but will need to concentrate on putting goals in and using his shot to his advantage. This is a type of players the Panther have been lacking for a while.

In the end: Signed for one more year at the bargain bin price of $875,000, Dadonov has the potential to be a keeper for the Panthers as they continue to restructure their roster. While he dealt with long term IR for a broken finger at the end of this year, next season he can certainly help the offensive struggles this team has been plagued with since 2000. Not predicting him to by any type of 40 goal scorer, however as he develops and becomes accustomed to the North American style of play, I could see Dadonov scoring 25-30 goals a season. Under one condition, that Tallon puts the right kind of players around him.

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