After finishing his first year with the Florida Panthers, Colton Sceviour showed how reliable he was while playing on the 4th line.
At the end of the 2016-17 season, Colton tallied 9G, 15A, and 24P in 80 games played. During the stretch of the season, Sceviour struggled at times finding the back of the net. As time went by though, he eventually found his rhythm and started to jell with his line mates.
Colton Sceviour was brought in strictly to add more depth to the bottom six. He wasn’t expected to score much nor put up fancy numbers either. His bread and butter is to work hard during each shift, and cause problems in the offensive zone. He did just that.
One area of Sceviour’s game that he excels in well is his defensive side to the game. In reward for his strong play, Colton was given minutes on the penalty kill. It’s where he really made a name for himself. Sceviour was fantastic at breaking up plays in the neutral zone while on the PK. It was really amazing seeing him frustrate the opposing team. No opposing team could get their power play set up when Colton was on the ice.
While his advanced stats are a bit under average, Sceviour made up for it with heart and determination. For a 4th line player, you really can’t expect much when it comes to statistics. With a CF% (Corsi For %) of 48.89%, it really isn’t too bad considering who he played with (MacKenzie and Thornton).
One moment from last season that we shouldn’t forget was Colton’s first hat trick. Let’s relive it down below.
The Panthers have struggled for years putting together a respectable bottom line. Sceviour though, adds that grit that we desperately need. Not only grit, but awareness, especially defensively which Colton has. While the Cats look to replace Thornton in the off-season, building a bottom line with Sceviour isn’t a bad idea.
If a guy like Jayce Hawryluk can slide right in with MacKenzie and Sceviour, then we really have ourselves a solid 4th line moving forward. While Colton may have missed some good opportunities to add to his goal tally last season, I am sure that next year he will improve upon his finishing around goal.
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Overall though, Sceviour may not be the “flashiest” of players, but he sure does work hard and cause problems for the opposing team. Having him on our PK is just a bonus going forward, as he was one of the reasons why are PK was ranked #1 in the league last season. Moving forward, Colton shall remain on the 4th line, as he’s the perfect fit for the role.