Florida Panthers: Top Five Moves That Were Steals Made by Dale Tallon

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SUNRISE, FL – APRIL 6: Vincent Trocheck #21 of the Florida Panthers skates with the puck against the New Jersey Devils at the BB&T Center on April 6, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Under Tallon, the Florida Panthers have had a lot of high-quality draft picks. A lot players from the current roster and rosters prior were selected by Tallon, and matured through the organization.

While the best of the best have come with top 10 picks from Tallon, there have been some decent picks Tallon has nailed past the first round.

Alexander Petrovic was a serviceable second-round selection for some time, Sam Montembeault looks to be well worth the third-round pick acquired for Marcel Goc, and MacKenzie Weegar has been an incredible find for a second-round pick.

The best of the best has to be Tallon’s selection of OHL center Vincent Trocheck in the third round of the 2011 NHL draft.

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Valued well below the likes of Ryan Strome, Zack Phillips, and Rocco Grimaldi, the Pittsburgh native was ranked 41st amongst North American skaters going into the draft.

Tallon was a huge fan of Trocheck’s attitude and work ethic during his time at Saginaw in the OHL. Trocheck has lived up to Tallon’s expectations, with 246 points across 365 regular-season games for Florida.

With the Cats, Trocheck has emerged as one of the best second-line centers in the entire NHL. Trocheck has been a force offensively on both the man advantage and at even strength with his explosive speed and quick hands.

Trocheck was an important piece during the 2015-16 playoff season and emerged as a true team leader during the 2017-18 season. That year, Trocheck set career high in goals (31), assists (44), and points (75) amongst others as he was voted to the 2017 NHL All-Star Game.

Despite an injury setback last season, Trocheck is still the clear second-line center in the Panthers organization, and everyone in and around the organization expects Trocheck to have a bounce back 2019-20 campaign.

Trading for pieces is great when the assets don’t pan out and drafting high-profile players in the first round proves that a GM has a good track record with picks. But, an all-star caliber forward in the third round is something truly incredible, which Dale Tallon managed to pull off.

dark. Next. Florida Should Consider Acquiring Niklas Hjalmarsson

Stay tuned for part 2 of this two-part series as Cal breaks down Tallon’s top five worst moves made as Panthers GM.

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Florida Panthers: Top Five Moves That Were Steals Made by Dale Tallon

By Cal Friedman | Jun 6, 2019

#1: Drafting Vincent Trocheck (Round 3, Pick 64)

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