Can momentum continue?
Turnout for draft at BB&T Center impressive and enthusiastic
SUNRISE — A fresh air of optimism surrounded the Florida Panthers as they played host to the NHL draft for the first time.
“As you can see by what we’ve done today, we’re really aggressive about winning,” said Bernie Kosar, point man for the Panthers’ new ownership group. Huh? That’s right, this weekend is the second time the hockey world has gathered to stock up on talent for the future at the BB&T Center, a place where expectations are unusually high for the host team in the upcoming season.
As they were in 2001 when the event was staged in the same venue, then known as the National Car Rental Center. The Panthers were in the middle of an ownership change from H. Wayne Huizenga to a group headed by Alan Cohen that included Kosar, the former quarterback.
The always hopeful Panthers made a splash on that draft day by
trading for Valeri Bure to join superstar brother Pavel in Florida. They drafted slick center Stephen Weiss to add to a talented young core of goalie Roberto Luongo and center Olli Jokinen.
It was easy to believe then, as it is now, that the wayward franchise was finally on the right track after years lost in the wilderness.
Alas, the Panthers in 2001-02 went on to have what remains their worst record for an 82-game season, 22-44-10-6. Pavel Bure suffered a concussion early, beginning a precipitous decline, and was dealt to the Rangers at the trading deadline.
There’s the cautionary tale for the latest chorus of “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
The Panthers, who have been more prone to false starts than a sprinter with the hiccups, believe they are on a course that finally will lead to sustained success on the ice and at the turnstiles. They are hopeful the attention from hosting the draft will build on the momentum from last season’s significant leap in the standings.
“Our offseason, just from a business standpoint, has been fantastic,” Peter Luukko, Panthers executive chairman, said before the draft. “We’ve renewed over 90 percent of our [season-]tickets. We’ve sold more new full-season [packages] than we have in recent years.”
Citing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals followed by the Panthers hosting the draft, Luukko said, “It’s good to see hockey relevant in Florida into the summer. Now with the draft, we’ll just keep that going.”
The turnout for the draft was impressive and enthusiastic, particularly Friday night. There was a long line to pose with Lord Stanley’s cup, and the arena was packed for the first-round selections. Although attendance figures weren’t announced, the draft configuration accommodated seating for about 12,300.
Florida hockey fans, much maligned around the NHL, acquitted themselves well, with Panthers supporters generating the loudest ovation of the night when their No. 1 pick, Lawson Crouse, was announced; Saturday’s most vocal contingent was a group from Tampa Bay cheering Lightning picks.
The intriguing question is how loud and proud the building will feel when the puck drops in October.
The Panthers were last in the league in attendance last season, averaging 11,265, and speculation persisted about the uncertain future of the franchise.
That was no doubt why NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made a point of saying at the podium that Friday’s standing room-only crowd was evidence that “hockey is alive and well in South Florida.”
Panthers fans, such as Mike Clark, an original season-ticket holder, have reason to be wary. Clark, who has seen “the good, the bad — more bad than good” felt better after a conversation with current owners Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu.
“I asked them straight up, are you going to move the team? I told them I’ve heard it all. Prove it on the ice,” said Clark, wearing a Panthers jersey adorned with team pins at Friday’s session.
“Talking to them, they want to be here to win. They’re not just here to do something good with the team and then move. … I’ve seen it by bringing in the key guys and role players which they need, and developing the young players, which [GM] Dale Tallon has done over the years. You can see it.”
Clark’s son, 10, wearing an Aaron Ekblad jersey, has been alive for only one Panthers playoff appearance.
Notably, that 2011-12 team that lost an exciting sevengame first-round series to New Jersey, was the only Panthers squad to reach the playoffs since they hosted the 2001 draft. In the forgettable period since, ownership has changed twice and the name of the arena three times.
The difference this time is much more depth in young talent that Tallon has mined from recent drafts and already producing, notably Ekblad, Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huuberdeau.
Fans such as Clark were already buying into Tallon’s blueprint, which got the Blackhawks off on a multiple championship run. The way Jaromir Jagr meshed with his young teammates, and the subsequent re-signing of the ageless superstar, created a momentum of antici- pation for next season.
“Great attendance, great atmosphere,” Tallon said Friday. “It’s starting to come. Great support from Vinnie and Doug. We’re committed, and the fans sense it, so it’s good.”
It is speculative how much hosting the draft will serve in building additional interest. There’s no evidence if it was a factor, but in the season following the 2001 draft Panthers attendance was up 10 percent and ranked 18th in the league, despite the team’s wretched record.
Luukko, who spent 25 years as an executive with the Flyers, is well aware is will take more than compliments from the commissioner at a feel-good gathering to turn optimism into the success that has so long eluded this franchise.
“If [the Flyers] were in the playoffs once out of 11 years there wouldn’t be anyone [coming to games] in Philadelphia either,” Luukko said.
“We’re pretty excited coming off the season that we did, and saw the great improvement, but we’re not satisfied. We’re in the winning business and we’re in a results business. It’s very clear that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Twitter @CraigDavisRuns