Florida Panthers Sign Ethan Prow to Bolster Defensive Depth

With major names like Sergei Bobrovsky and Anton Stralman stealing all the attention, the Florida Panthers made a sneaky good depth acquisition on free agency day with the addition of defenseman Ethan Prow.

Following the Jacob MacDonald trade, the Florida Panthers were desperately in need of another depth defenseman, in case one of their top-six defensemen goes down with an injury next season.

The addition of Stralman means Josh Brown and Ian McCoshen will become depth defensemen, but the recent signing of Ethan Prow is certainly intriguing.

Following a successful college hockey career, Prow quickly established himself as a premier two-way defenseman at the American Hockey League level.

Prow has spent the past four seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which is the minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 26-year-old dynamic offensive defenseman played in only five AHL games during the 2016 season, recording 1 point and a +1 rating. Prow would continue improving his style of play at the AHL level on a yearly basis.

Ethan Prow would receive more playing time and opportunities in the following season for Wilkes-Barre. In 59 contests, Prow recorded a respectable slash line of 1G, 15A, and 16 points to go along with a plus/minus rating of +1. Moreover, Prow even recorded an AHL postseason goal in five playoff games in 2017.

However, there still was no room on the roster for Ethan Prow, which meant he would remain buried in the AHL, once again. Nevertheless, Prow would continually elevate his abilities and become increasingly dominant in the American Hockey League.

During the 2018 AHL season, Prow participated in 40 regular season games, producing a line of 4G, 13A, for 17 points and a +2 rating. Prow was essentially reliable in his own end, while also being able to provide consistent offense as a top-four defenseman.

Although, the 2019 season was truly a breakout campaign for the promising 26-year-old. The Penguins prospect recorded a historic season for a defenseman at the AHL level.

While playing in 74 games, Ethan Prow produced a ridiculous tally of 18G, 32A, and 50 points to side with his strong +26 rating.

Essentially, Prow established himself as a dominant two-way AHL defenseman who clearly deserves a shot at the NHL level. Despite Prow’s marvelous AHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins did not call up the transcendent defenseman.

Because of Pittsburgh’s reluctance to provide Prow with an opportunity, the former St. Cloud State product would depart via free agency for the Florida Panthers. The Cats ultimately signed the surging Prow to a two-year, two-way contract worth $700K annually.

The Cats are receiving an absolute bargain and a potential third-pairing NHL caliber defenseman in Prow. Furthermore, Ethan could potentially outperform the likes of one-dimensional defensemen such as Josh Brown and Ian McCoshen for the 7th D spot.

The Prow acquisition can be interpreted as another low-risk, high-reward contract distributed by GM Dale Tallon. If Prow continues to develop nicely, then there’s a strong possibility that he could receive playing time with the Florida Panthers in 2020.

Ultimately, Ethan Prow still possesses high potential and has tons of promise as a well-polished two-way defenseman.

If any injury occurs throughout the course of the season to a defenseman, then Ethan Prow would seem like the prime candidate to step in and produce admirably.

All in all, this signing essentially improves the Florida Panthers’ depth at defense and gives them a quality replacement for the recently departed Jacob MacDonald. Welcome to the Florida Panthers, Ethan Prow!