Team gets help signing prospect Blaine Byron
AUTO RACING: Lewis Hamilton tied Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record by winning a 68th pole at the Belgian Grand Prix . ... Sebastian Vettel extended his contract with Ferrari for three more years.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Colorado State opened its new on-campus stadium in Fort Collins, Colo., with a 58-27 win against Oregon State.
GOLF: Jordan Spieth built a three-shot lead on Dustin Johnson going into the final round of The Northern Trust in Old Westbury, N.Y . ... Brooke Henderson, 19, shot an 8-under 63 to get into contention in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Ottawa Hunt. She was three strokes behind third-round leaders Nicole Broch Larsen and Mo Martin . ... John Daly shot a 6-under 65 at the Made in Denmark tournament to sit three shots off the lead after the third round in Farso, Denmark . ... Jerry Kelly shot a 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash., putting him in position for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
HORSE RACING: West Coast won the $1.25 million Travers at Saratoga against all three winners of this year’s Triple Crown races. Ridden by Mike Smith and trained by Bob Baffert, West Coast paid $14.20, $7.60 and $5.30. Belmont winner Tapwrit finished fourth, Preakness winner Cloud Computing was eighth, and Kentucky Derby champion Always Dreaming was ninth in the 12-horse field.
NBA: The Cavaliers are reviewing medical records in the deal that sent Kyrie Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, who hurt his right hip in the Eastern Conference finals . ... Mavs C Nerlens Noel accepted a one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer.
NFL: Patriots WR Julian Edelman will miss the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in an exhibition game. Edelman suffered the non-contact injury in the first quarter against the Lions in Detroit . ... Bills QB Tyrod Taylor left the exhibition game against the Ravens in Baltimore with a concussion . ... The Lions waived DT Bruce Gaston from injured reserve . ... Chiefs RB Spencer Ware hurt his right knee in Friday night’s exhibition game in Seattle . ... The Jaguars said QB Blake Bortles will start the opener against the Texans . ... The Bills signed C Eric Wood to a two-year extension.
TENNIS: Second-seeded Andy Murray pulled out of the U.S. Open because of a hip injury . ... Daria Gavrilova upset secondseeded Dominika Cibulkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 for the championship of the Connecticut Open in New Haven.
ALSO: The WNBA is going to let teams choose how they stand for the national anthem for the rest of the season . ... Kyle Snyder of Ohio State scored a late takedown of Olympic gold medalist Abdusalim Sadulaev in the deciding match, and the United States won the world freestyle wrestling title in Paris for the first time in 22 years . ... Lufkin, Texas, overcame a five-run deficit to beat Greenville, N.C., 6-5 and earn a spot in the Little League World Series championship in Williamsport, Pa. Lufkin will face Japan in Sunday’s championship.
The Florida Panthers got creative in outmaneuvering several other teams in pursuit of coveted prospect Blaine Byron.
It took an assist from one or their own young players to seal the deal with the former University of Maine standout forward.
In an unusual move, Byron signed a one-year contract with Springfield, the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, after defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, who played for the Thunderbirds last season and briefly with the Panthers, touted the benefits of the organization for developing players.
“This is a little bit different than every other AHL guy we’ve signed because this kid bet on himself, and the players were the ones telling him, go to Florida, it’s the best for you,” said Eric Joyce, Springfield general manager as well as a Panthers assistant GM. “It’s the culture that we want to create.
“Other clubs offered him NHL deals, and he turned those down and signed with us.”
A sixth-round draft choice of Pittsburgh in 2013, Byron played four seasons at Maine (46 goals, 108 points in 145 games) and became an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 16 when the Penguins’ rights to him expired.
Coming off a strong senior season in which he led Maine with 18 goals and 41 points in 36 games, the Manitock, Ontario, native reportedly also drew interest from New Jersey, Ottawa, Buffalo and the new Vegas team.
Weegar is also from the Ottawa area and pitched the Panthers to Byron during summer training sessions there. Byron saw opportunity for moving up in the organization as well as retaining a couple of important options.
Because he is on an AHLonly contract, the deal includes an out-clause if another team offers an NHL contract, though the Panthers will have the right to match the offer.
There has also been speculation that signing with Springfield was appealing because it keeps open the possibility For Byron to play in the Olympics, which AHL players can do.
“If Team Canada calls, I’m never going to hold the player back from going to represent his country,” Joyce said. “The agent and I never really discussed that. [But] if that’s something he wants to pursue, we’ll support that fully.”
Byron is appealing to the Panthers as a playmaker with a knack for getting himself in position to score. At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds (he added 25 pounds while in college), he has adequate size and speed. A left-handed shooter, he played center at Maine but will likely also get a look on the wing.
“He scores,” Joyce said. “That’s something we needed and we’re excited to get it.”
Byron will have a chance to showcase the ability during the Panthers’ rookie camp, which opens Sept. 7, and in the four-team rookie tournament (including Capitals, Lightning, Predators) at Estero’s Germain Arena, Sept. 9-12. He also received an invite to the Panthers’ regular training camp.
Weegar, who was also chosen in the 2013 draft, in the seventh round by the Panthers, recently signed a two-way contract and will be vying for a spot on the Florida blue line. But he and Byron may start the season as teammates in Springfield for the coaching staff he touted.
“MacKenzie really raved about [Thunderbirds coach] Geordie Kinnear [and his assistants] and just the systems we have in the minors,” Joyce said. “That’s great to hear because last year we went through a little bit of a rough patch [in the organization] — a lot of changes, a lot of injuries — but it’s great to hear that players that we have still in our system still believe in what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
cldavis@sun-sentinel.com, Twitter @CraigDavisRuns