#3: Jacob MacDonald (Defenseman)
Everyone’s surprise player on the opening roster, young defensemen Jacob MacDonald caught the eyes of everyone in Panthers media over the course of September and October.
The Canadian played in every preseason game, seriously impressing Bob Boughner and Dale Tallon to beat Ian McCoshen to the 7th defenseman roster spot.
MacDonald then surprised all of the NHL as he scored on his first NHL shot – past Andrei Vasilevskiy, no less – to give Florida a 1-0 lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning on opening night.
After one more game for Florida, MacDonald returned to Springfield once MacKenzie Weegar returned from injury.
The calls of a return are growing as he’s been almost perfect at the AHL level – three goals and four assists across six games, +6 – almost looking to be too good for Springfield.
The Panthers’ defensive unit has been a tricky one this year, with bottom pairing Alex Petrovic and Bogdan Kiselevich looking better than top players Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle on defense.
It’s almost to the point where you wonder if MacDonald would replace Mark Pysyk instead, a weird idea that may come true if the Oregon native keeps up his top form.