The Florida Panthers have selected 269 players in the NHL Draft, including 189 North American skaters. One of those top picks happens to be Canadian Aaron Ekblad, who is one of the franchise’s best skaters with a Calder Trophy and two Stanley Cup rings on his resume.
Surprisingly, of the 189 names selected by the Panthers, 55 were Americans and 134 were Canadians. Meanwhile, only 69 of them have gone on to play in the NHL. Today, we want to look at those prospects and rank them as the best drafted.
10. Nick Bjugstad - 19th Overall (2010) Minneapolis, MN, USA
NHL Totals: 821 GP - 163 G - 176 A - 339 PTS
Florida Totals: 394 GP - 87 G - 104 A - 191 PTS
Nick Bjugstad gets the nod in the final spot on this list because he ranks among the top 25 in Panthers history in games played, goals, and points. As the 19th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Bjugstad would make his debut during the 2012-13 season, skating with the Panthers for six and a half seasons. Since leaving, he’s played for seven other clubs and, at 33, currently plays with the New Jersey Devils.
9. Nathan Horton - 3rd Overall (2003) Welland, ON, CAN
NHL Totals: 627 GP - 203 G - 218 A - 421 PTS
Florida Totals: 422 GP - 142 G - 153 A - 295 PTS
Nathan Horton was a 20-goal scorer in seven of his first eight seasons, reaching a career-high of 31 in 2006-07. Unfortunately, injuries derailed a promising career, one cut short at the age of 28. However, as a member of the Boston Bruins, Horton won the Stanley Cup in 2011, despite not playing after Game 3 of the Final due to a concussion. In just six seasons, he collected 295 points, which still ranks as the ninth-best total in Panthers history.
8. Stephen Weiss - 4th Overall (2001) Toronto, ON, CAN
NHL Totals: 732 GP - 156 G - 267 A - 423 PTS
Florida Totals: 654 GP - 145 G - 249 A - 394 PTS
Former fourth overall pick, Stephen Weiss, is the only player on this list to skate more than a decade with the Panthers, debuting during the 2001-02 season and leaving as a free agent at the end of 2012-13. Despite retiring in 2015, he remains the franchise’s fifth leading scorer with 394 points, behind Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Olli Jokinen. During his time with Florida, Weiss scored more than 20 goals four times.
7. Zach Hyman - 132nd Overall (2010) Toronto, ON, CAN
NHL Totals: 711 GP - 261 G - 234 A - 495 PTS
Florida Totals: 0 GP - 0 G - 0 A - 0 PTS
The Panthers drafted future 50-goal scorer Zach Hyman in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft, trading him to the Toronto Maple Leafs before he made his debut. In seven out of the 11 seasons he’s played so far, Hyman has scored more than 20 goals, surpassing 30 three times, including the 2023-24 season, when he netted a personal best 54. Interestingly, Hyman, now with the Edmonton Oilers, faced the Panthers in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the club that drafted him on both occasions.
6. Jay Bouwmeester - 3rd Overall (2002) Edmonton, AB, CAN
NHL Totals: 1,240 GP - 88 G - 336 A - 424 PTS
Florida Totals: 471 GP - 53 G - 150 A - 203 PTS
Jay Bouwmeester was considered one of the smoothest-skating defensemen of his era. He played six years with the Panthers, who made him their top pick in the 2002 draft. After some very productive seasons, including a career-high 41 points in 2005-06, the club dealt him to the Calgary Flames in 2009. In 2019, he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the St. Louis Blues. As of 2026, Bouwmeester remains the fourth-highest scoring defenseman in Panthers history.
5. Rob Niedermayer - 5th Overall (1993) Cassiar, BC, CAN
NHL Totals: 1,153 GP - 186 G - 283 A - 469 PTS
Florida Totals: 518 GP - 101 G - 165 A - 266 PTS
Rob Niedermayer is the younger brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Scott, and the brothers won the Stanley Cup together in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks. Before his triumph in California, Rob was a top draft pick of the Panthers, playing eight seasons with the club and departing as their second-highest scorer of all time in 2001. Despite 17 seasons in the NHL, Rob only scored 20 goals once, with Florida, in 1995-96, the same season he helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Final.
4. Vincent Trocheck - 3rd Overall (2011) Pittsburgh, PA, USA
NHL Totals: 868 GP - 239 G - 392 A - 631 PTS
Florida Totals: 420 GP - 111 G - 171 A - 282 PTS
Vicent Trocheck spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Panthers, becoming a three-time 20-goal scorer and setting a personal best of 31 in 2017-18. After 13 seasons, he is considered a top center in the league who has reached at least 20 goals in four of the past five years. If he remains healthy over the last two seasons on his current deal with the New York Rangers, Trocheck will play in his 1,000th game and could close in on 750 points.
3. Ed Jovanovski - 1st Overall (1994) Windsor, ON, CAN
NHL Totals: 1,128 GP - 137 G - 363 A - 500 PTS
Florida Totals: 362 GP - 33 G - 69 A - 102 PTS
Ed Jovanovski slides into the second spot because of his legacy in Florida; not only was he the club’s first first-overall pick, but he also ascended to the captaincy, serving in the role for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. He spent three and a half seasons with the Panthers at the start of his career, followed by stops in Vancouver and Phoenix, before a reunion with the Panthers in 2011. When Jovanoski retired in 2014, he was one of only seven defensemen to reach 100 points; now he is the Panthers’ 13th-highest-scoring defenseman.
2. Jonathan Huberdeau - 3rd Overall (2011) Saint-Jerome, QC, CAN
NHL Totals: 962 GP - 263 G - 544 A - 807 PTS
Florida Totals: 671 GP - 198 G - 415 A - 613 PTS
Drafted third overall in 2011, Huberdeau became the Panthers’ single-season record holder with 115 points during the 2021-22 campaign thanks to a league-leading 85 assists. In arguably the biggest trade in franchise history, they dealt away their second-highest scorer of all time to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk. Within two years of the deal, the Panthers won the first of back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.
1. Aaron Ekblad - 1st Overall (2014) Windsor, ON, CAN
NHL Totals: 804 GP - 122 G - 284 A - 406 PTS
Florida Totals: 804 GP - 122 G - 284 A - 406 PTS
Aaron Ekblad is one of two first-overall picks in Panthers history and one of their greatest players, capturing the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2015 and helping deliver two Stanley Cup victories. Heading into the 2026-27 season, Ekblad is tied with Barkov for most games played at 804 and sits fourth all-time in scoring with 406 points, just 13 behind Jokinen for sole possession of third.
Regarding his place among defensemen, he leads in all four major statistical categories, including games played, goals, assists, and points, by a wide margin. When he decides to retire, the Panthers will most likely retire his No. 5 because there's no denying his impact on franchise history.
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