The Rat Trick
Fansided

Florida Panthers: Top Candidates for the 2019 All-Star Game

By Cal Friedman

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 28: {L-R} Atlantic Division All-Stars teammates Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jack Eichel #15 of the Buffalo Sabres, and Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers celebrate after a goal in the second half during the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game between the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Divison at Amalie Arena on January 28, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 28: {L-R} Atlantic Division All-Stars teammates Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jack Eichel #15 of the Buffalo Sabres, and Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers celebrate after a goal in the second half during the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game between the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Divison at Amalie Arena on January 28, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next

Player #3: Evgeni Dadonov, Right Wing

SUNRISE, FL – FEBRUARY 24: Evgeni Dadonov #63 of the Florida Panthers is greeted by fans while heading out to the ice prior to warm ups against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the BB&T Center on February 24, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL – FEBRUARY 24: Evgeni Dadonov #63 of the Florida Panthers is greeted by fans while heading out to the ice prior to warm ups against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the BB&T Center on February 24, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /

A darkhorse candidate, Evgeni Dadonov was massively underlooked by not just the NHL, but even Panther fans as a whole.

Returning from the KHL after a six-season stint, Dadonov was brilliant in his return to Florida, scoring 65 points in just 74 games, 9 points under the point-per-game mark. While the KHL is a very challenging league, it was stunning to see Dadonov, who had just 27 points in three prior seasons in Florida, return like this.

It’s not just because he played with Aleksander Barkov either, while the two linked up very well over the course of last season, it was Dadonov’s mixed bag of all-star level talent that got him near the top.

His creativity to feed targets like Nick Bjugstad and Barkov, while being able to create as many opportunities as he did, truly marked his return.

For one, his vision fetched him a lot of assists, the second most for a Panthers winger, only behind Jonathan Huberdeau’s 38. Dadonov has the capability to unleash some ridiculous passes, including this one in his home return against the Tampa Bay Lightning, setting up future linemate Nick Bjugstad:

Dadonov gets the puck behind his own blue line, looks up, spots the line change, and in an instant, flings the pass straight to Bjugstad, who kicks it into high gear. 

Bjugstad, with a teammate in support, takes it on himself and beats Andrei Vasilevskiy to level the score in the early second. It’s this kind of lightning-fast thinking that got Dadonov back to the top, delivering 37 more assists during the season.

To be an all-star, most players should have a signature skill to catch the eyes of the NHL fans over social media to win over votes. Fortunately for Dadonov, he has this move, and it’s worked multiple times.

Evgeni Dadonov’s over-the-shoulder fake has been used for a decent amount of goals over the past season, most notably seen against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The move is simple, Dadonov carries the puck into the zone and will realize that he’s either one-on-one with a defender or even one-on-two.

Dadonov looks over his shoulder, knowing a teammate isn’t coming but can change the defenseman’s perception of what he’s trying to do; rather than drive towards goal, it looks as though Dadonov is waiting for support.

Before they can react, Dadonov rips a wrist shot past the defenseman and the goalie, with neither being able to react to the shot:

Dadonov has been nowhere near all-star status prior to this year, as said, he had 20 points in 55 games stretching across 2009-2011 before departing for Russia.

Now, expectations of an all-star aren’t completely out of reach. So long as the Panthers play well, he can easily shoot for one of the three wild-card spots in the Atlantic.

Home/Editorials