Florida Panthers fans should be excited for the 2026 NHL Draft, as it will mark the first time in four years the team has a first-round pick. In an attempt to build a championship roster, they have dealt away their most valuable draft assets, but in exchange, they now have two Stanley Cup banners at Amerant Bank Arena.
Today, we want to take a look at the Panthers’ first-round pick from the past ten years, catching up with which prospects have turned into NHLers, or which of these picks turned into blockbuster trades and Stanley Cup winners.
2025 NHL Draft: No first-round selection
When Florida acquired Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames on July 22, 2022, they sacrificed their 2025 first-round pick in a deal also involving Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, and MacKenzie Weegar.
Since the Panthers qualified for the playoffs and their pick was outside the top ten, the Flames ended up with the 32nd overall pick in last year’s draft. Calgary selected Cullen Potter, who is still playing in the NCAA.
2024 NHL Draft: No first-round selection
At the 2024 NHL Draft, the Edmonton Oilers, who recently lost to the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, ended up with the club’s first-round pick via a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers.
On Mar. 19, 2022, Florida sent this pick, along with a third-round pick and Owen Tippett, to Philadelphia in exchange for Connor Bunnaman, Claude Giroux, German Rubtsov, and a fifth-round pick. Because the Panthers qualified for the playoffs and their pick was outside the top ten, it went to the Flyers.
Eventually, Philadelphia sent this pick to Edmonton on June 28 in a deal that swapped first-round picks. The Oilers selected Sam O’Reilly, who hasn’t debuted in the NHL.
2023 NHL Draft: No first-round selection
On Mar. 16, 2022, the Panthers acquired Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Ty Smilanic and a conditional fourth-round pick. Because Florida qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canadiens received a first-round pick instead.
At the Draft, the Canadiens acquired Alex Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche for this first-round pick and Gianni Fairbrother. When it was their turn to pick at 31st overall, they selected Mikhail Gulyayev, who has yet to make his NHL debut. Â
2022 NHL Draft: No first-round selection
On July 24, 2021, the Panthers acquired Sam Reinhart from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the team’s first-round pick, which ended up 28th overall, and goalie Devon Levi. The Sabres selected Jiri Kulich, who has played 75 NHL games through the 2025-26 season.
After another trade with the Seattle Kraken, the Panthers didn’t make their first pick in the 2022 Draft until the third round, selecting Marek Alscher at 94th overall.
2021 NHL Draft: Mackie Samoskevich (24th Overall)
Mackie Samoskevich is the last Panthers’ first-round pick, going 24th overall in 2021. In three seasons, he’s dressed for 156 games and has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. After going scoreless during his first seven NHL games, Samoskevich lit the lamp 15 and 12 times over the past two seasons.
The two-time NCAA (B1G) champion is a restricted free agent this summer and is a key bottom-six player the Panthers must consider keeping in the fold.
2020 NHL Draft: Anton Lundell (12th Overall)
There’s an argument to make that Anton Lundell is the Panthers’ best draft pick of the last decade. Before his 25th birthday in October, he’s already won two Stanley Cup titles and a World Championship. That is in addition to U18 and U20 gold medals and an Olympic bronze medal.
Despite not yet reaching 20 goals in a season, the former 12th overall pick has 78 goals and 201 points in 359 games. As another elite Finnish player, if he continues down the path he’s on, Lundell would join captain Aleksander Barkov as one of the team’s all-time international stars.
2019 NHL Draft: Spence Knight - G (13th Overall)
Spencer Knight is one of seven goalies the Panthers have selected in the last decade, but the only one taken in the first round, 13th overall, in 2019. After a spectacular debut, going 23-9-3 to begin his career in Florida, he went 12-8-1 in 2024-25 before a deal sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Seth Jones.
Since becoming Chicago’s number one goalie, Knight is 24-33-13 on a rebuilding team led by former first overall pick Connor Bedard. In 2025, he signed a three-year deal worth $5.8 million.
2018 NHL Draft: Grigori Denisenko - LW (15th Overall)
Grigori Denisenko recently played with the Vegas Golden Knights, dressing for one game during the 2024-25 season. Initially, a Panthers’ first-round pick, 15th overall, he made his NHL debut on Mar. 6, 2021. Although he’s spent most of his career in the AHL, he failed to score a goal in the NHL in 33 games split between Florida and Vegas.
According to his Elite Prospects profile, Denisenko led the KHL playoffs in hits while playing with the Ak Bars Kazan. After returning to his native Russia for the first time since 2020, he scored 14 goals and 28 points in 64 games.
2017 NHL Draft: Owen Tippett - RW (10th Overall)
Tippett remains the Panthers’ last top-10 pick in the past decade, getting selected at No. 10 in 2017. He’d make his NHL debut a few months later on October 17, and in 94 games with the club, failed to reach his potential, with just 14 goals and 33 points.
After a trade to the Flyers on Mar. 19, 2022, in the Giroux deal, Tippett bloomed into a 20-goal scorer. Now entering his fifth full campaign with the Flyers, he’s already collected 103 goals and 196 points.
2016 NHL Draft: Henrik Borgström - C (23rd Overall)
Henrik Borgström was the Panthers' top pick in 2016, 23rd overall. He'd make his NHL debut at 20 on Mar. 29, 2018, and skated 58 games with the organization over three seasons. Eventually, he played with the Blackhawks and Washington Capitals, last skating in the NHL during the 2022-23 season.
Despite winning an NCAA National Championship and a Calder Cup in the AHL, Borgström returned to Europe and the SHL for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, racking up 35 goals and 79 points in 99 games. Last season, with the HC Fribourg-Gottéron, he became an NL Champion.
Interestingly, only two of the Panthers’ latest first-round picks, Lundell and Knight, have gone on to establish themselves in the NHL. What could happen with their top pick this year? Only time will tell.
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