Panthers sign another AHL’r
The Florida Panthers have signed RW Graham Mink to a 2-year contract. The winger played for Washington’s farm team Hershey last year and was part of the team there that won the Calder Cup. The Trophy was his second as a member of the AHL’s Bears. Panthers inter-rim GM Randy Sexton said about Mink:
“We are very pleased to welcome Graham to the Florida Panthers. Graham, [...] has experienced tremendous success on the AHL level and also understands what it takes to compete on the National Hockey League level.”
The 30-year old AHL veteran played in 68 games for Hershey last year, scoring 32 goals and accumulating a total of 59 points. In the Calder Cup playoffs he played in 22 games and scored 7 goals and contributed 8 assists. While mink is very experienced on the AHL level he has only played 7 games in NHL with the Capitals.
The Stowe, Vermont native, may very well have a shot at playing on the Panthers fourth line this coming season, but most likely this deal has made with an eye on helping the Rochester Americans achieve some success in the increasingly competitive AHL. After a disastrous previous season, the first with the Cats as the sole NHL affiliate, the Amerks are now getting some solid AHL veterans to boost its cause this coming campaign.
The lure is likely to be a shot at making a Panthers roster that is remarkably open to a competitive challenge from seasoned AHL’s at the moment. Many will probably feel that head coach Pete DeBoer will give everyone a fair chance of making the roster out of training camp.
While this is good; it is important to have a successful farm team, it is also a bit concerning to see that the Cats’ roster perhaps lacks some proven NHL quality through the lines….
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