Roblogg’s Panthers Portal

After an initial flurry of signings in the early days of July, it has been chiefly quiet days in South Florida. Head Coach Peter DeBoer seems to be comfortable with the players at his disposal and feels confident that they can continue to develop and challenge for a playoff spot this upcoming campaign.

Overlooked among the paper speculations, names and numbers of the colorful free agent signings, is what happens behind the scenes; how everyone, from the front office to the staff to the players – all prepare themselves for the new season ahead.

Here I will uncover how the Panthers are using a new groundbreaking technology in its bid to constantly improve. And, according to both players and studies made, this new technology can actually make a huge difference to their on-ice performance and give the Panthers an edge on the opposition.

To find out exactly what this new technology is all about and how it came to involve the Florida Panthers, we need to first travel north of the border, as is often the case in hockey, to the roots of the sport.

From Vision to Realization

In Kingston, Ontario, we can find the home of Blackstone Sports and its co-founders Murray and Steve Wilson. A father-son team, who ten years ago took the first step in realizing a modest vision of being No.1 within their field. They took the step over the precipice and set out from nothing to realize their dreams. Well, maybe it wasn’t that modest, but today it seems like they are well on their way of doing what they set out to do – with a double digit growth over the past decade.

It was an “exciting journey” as the co-founder of Blackstone Sports, Steve Wilson, put it. Working with engineers, this father-son team had to create a brand name and try to come up with something that would give them an edge in their field. And the field in question? Skate sharpening!

It is a subject that Steve knows most there is to know about. Having started working in his father’s hardware store at the age of twelve – sharpening skates of course (this is Canada after all!) – later this came to pay for his college studies and has been a pivotal part of his life ever since.

And from the abovementioned humble beginnings in Chatham, Ontario, the profession of his choice would eventually take him to Southern Florida; where a Panthers equipment manager and veteran player would soon come to play a big role in the spreading of a new groundbreaking technology that Blackstone Sports had developed – called the Flat Bottom V.

The Flat Bottom V Technology

In their quest to optimize an old system of skate sharpening that had been largely unchanged during the previous century, Steve Wilson and his engineers came up with the ‘spinner system’ which dresses the sharpening wheel differently – than the traditional single diamond system. It creates a different shape that allows for “a more consistent and more efficient way to dress the wheel” as Florida Panthers Head Equipment Manager Chris Scoppetto clarifies.

The Flat Bottom V technology came from working with this spinner system and the engineers eventually guided the process toward what would become the Flat Bottom V (FBV) shape. “The Flat Bottom V allows the wheel to be shaped in a new way, allowing the skater to have the best of both worlds. Traditionally if you had a deep hollow you would have more bite for agility but less glide because you were digging into the ice,” Scoppetto goes on to explain.

In other words, with the traditional system of skate sharpening; a player had to choose between agility on the ice or speed. With the FBV technology that is no longer the case.
The below pictures can illustrate this difference:

Comparing the FBV technology with that innovative breakthrough with hockey sticks; namely the graphite composite hockey stick, is not wide of the mark. Difference here is that FBV skates are not likely to shatter whenever a Panthers player is trying to clear the puck from deep within their zone…

The Prototype Sensation that got Stillman on Rails

Panthers Assistant Equipment Manager Chris Moody had been using the spinner system for the dressing of the sharpening wheel even before Scoppetto arrived from Detroit – and now the two Chris’s work closely side-by-side. So, the Cats had early on, an established working relationship with Blackstone Sports and, in 2008 when this new FBV technology was still on the prototype stage, Steve Wilson was in South Florida on a routine visit. He brought with him the Flat Bottom V prototype, and as it happened, veteran winger Cory Stillman was in the dressing room at the time and was asked if he wanted to try something new. “He did, and he loved it!” Steve recollects. “He wouldn’t let me leave with it!”

Indeed, so enamored was Stillman by the FBV technology that Steve had to leave the prototype behind. Chris Scoppetto explains why the player felt such a difference in his own recollection of the event:

“Cory Stillman was on an inch and a half hollow which is almost flat (no edges). He tried the Flat Bottom V and skated like he was on rails. He did not have to slow down while turning/stopping/ or going into the corners. Other guys began to try the Flat Bottom V and remarked how they were less fatigued because they were not sinking deep into the ice. Because it was a ProtoType Spinner, Steve was not sure he could leave it with us. Stillman liked it so much (as well as a handful of other players), we were able to keep the ProtoType in Florida”.

By the end of the 2008/9 season, Stillman was not alone in using the Flat Bottom V. Among the Panthers team were: Nathan Horton, Ville Peltonen, Rostislav Olesz, Anthony Stewart, Bryan McCabe, Nick Boynton, Keith Ballard, David Booth, Michael Frolik, Kamil Kreps, Richard Zednik, Nick Tarnasky, Radek Dvorak and all three Coaches – using the FBV.

“Like dominos, more players tried the new Flat Bottom V and more switched to it.  This was uncommon because at the NHL level players usually are not open to drastic changes,” says Scoppetto.

“Thanks for Adding 3 More Years to my Career”

Since then the technology was introduced upon the market, it is now spreading rapidly word-by-mouth among hockey athletes. Steve tells me that they currently have six to seven weeks of backorders – due to the heavy demand. And so, whilst being first in the NHL to embrace it, the Panthers will no longer have this technology to themselves and will hence perhaps lose some of that initial edge on the competition – before soon – although they’ll no doubt continue to spearhead the technology in the National Hockey League.

Studies undergoing at the University of Ottawa have confirmed that the FBV “blew competitors out of the water” as Steve puts it, in their tests – adding as much as 5-6% of speed (whilst additional agility is more difficult to quantify). The players certainly feel the difference and some have even thanked Steve for “adding 3 more years to my career!”

In a time of salary cap crunches and long contracts, that certainly is not a bad compliment to this new technology and something everyone can gain from. Not least hockey fans; as a faster more exciting brand of hockey is suddenly possible, in the wake of this great skate sharpening innovation.

Leap of Faith

So what else is on the horizon for Steve Wilson and Blackstone Sports?

They are at the moment trying to keep up with the demand and backorders on the Flat Bottom V, but are also looking at how to use and adapt the technology to other ice skating sports; such as figure skating and speed skating. No doubt the technology could turn out to be an as great innovation here as it is currently proving itself within the hockey world.

About his experience with the Panthers, Steve says he “feels great to be a part of the Florida Panthers” who he feels he has “a great working relationship with and holds in high regards”. He also says that Florida’s Head Equipment Manager Chris Scoppetto and Assistant Equipment Manager Chris Moody “took a leap of faith” when utilizing the new FBV technology.

And hence, some of the credit for the rapid spread of this new technology must go to the Florida Panthers, and in particular aforementioned Chris’s, and not least veteran winger Cory Stillman – who is now officially on rails – thanks to the FBV and Blackstone Sports.

The hockey community seems to have gone in to its customary summer hibernation and there is precious little to report. Apart, that is, from the rather tedious Phoenix Coyotes and its bankruptcy hearing – and of course the breif excursion in to crime by young Chicago Blackhawks sniper Patrick Kane. The latter may possibly even have been overblown by a hockey media in desperate search of headlines.

All this leaves us with is a couple of minor moves of Panthers interest and one non-mover previously linked with the Cats, a new Cap coach, and of course the Canes – blowing some wind…

To begin with former Florida goaltender Ed Belfour was hired by the St. Louis Blues organization to work as a goalie consultant in their AHL affiliate Peoria Rivermen. After Tomas Vokoun was brought in to the Panthers in the summer of 2007, Belfour was deemed expendable and he then spent the following season in Sweden, playing for the second tier team Leksand Stars. Like with all former Cats I wish him well in Peoria and hope goalie coaching will be something he enjoys. Being one of the goalies with most wins in the NHL certainly gives him the required experience for the job.

On a sidenote the Washington Capitals also turned to a former goalie legend and offered Arthurs Irbe the goalie coach position with the organization. The Caps could surely do with a good goalie coach if they are ever to progress as far in the playoffs as Tsar Alex’s ego undoubtedly expects them to be. However, a coach can only do so much, and Washington needs a goaltender that can match their ambition with the required talents. Whether Semen Varlamov has what it takes, remains yet to be seen.

Over on the West Coast of Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning has been busy as usual and also in the habitual ownership turmoil. Amidst all this GM Brian Lawton is attempting to put together a decent team by getting rid of some key players. Typical Lightning logic the skeptic may say. Former Cat Vaclav Prospal was unceremoniously bought out of his massive three year remaining contract and dumped upon the free agent market. This whilst Ville Peltonen’s former tormenter Evgeny Artuykhin was traded to Ducks yesterday, in another cost-cutting measure. Undoubtedly the giant Russian will fit like, well, a duck in water with Anaheim’s tough-guy image.

Apparently all these salary dumps out of the blue are leading somewhere. The Tampa Bay Lightning is, according to most trade rumors, first in line to sign star winger Alex Tanguay. The Panthers had previously been in that position, but contrary to some Internet reports – no deal was ever agreed. Tanguay remains a free agent, and like I stated here when the reports were coming in hot and heavy, Alex will be in no rush to sign a deal. He’ll be anxious to make sure the pay-cut he is likely forced to take – won’t be all too sizeable. The longer he waits – the more likely someone is to get desperate. Something which wouldn’t wholly be out of character with the Bolts.

And on the low scale of money-grabbing schemes we find, not too sursprisingly, the Carolina Hurricanes; suing a local hip-hop artist for violating the Hurricanes’ trademark. Apparently they liked the song initially and had no problem playing it in the arena, but when it appeared the artist might get some money from the song – the Canes duly sued him. Apparently they want their share of the booty too…

Sometimes no news can be good news. In this case it depends on your take of the proposed take-over of the Florida Panthers by an investment consortium. Good thing, bad thing? No one really knows. Will it even happen? No one knows. Certainly, if anyone does know; they are keeping a tight lid on things.

Apparently the rumors of the franchises sale were just that – rumors. At least for now, that is. It doesn’t mean the deal is dead in the water, merely that more time is needed. However, the fact that it has taken so long in the first place, makes the deal less likely you would think. If it had been a straightforward investment takeover it would have been done by now. Makes you wonder what exactly is going on, doesn’t it?

Perhaps the whole Phoenix situation is also playing a part in the delays?

After all, potential buyers might be interested to know whether they can move the franchise without the full blessings of the NHL in the future. Indeed, if the Coyotes are relocated it could set a dangerous future precedence for hockey fans in South Florida. The Panthers are not the hottest name, on an already crowded local sports market, and there are other hockey areas crying for a team of their own.

Better then with an owner, Alan Cohen, that you already know?

Perhaps, but then again new owners could provide a greater impetus to succeed, to plow money in to the roster and go all out in search of on-ice success; which could very well (if sustained and significant enough) rejuvenate the franchise and endear it to more sports fans in the region. There is some untapped potential here, that’s for sure.

Again – no news so far; just speculation. And we’ll probably have to sit in the silence for some while; whilst little newsdroplets trickle out one at a time. Nothing looks, unlike what the Herald may have claimed earlier, imminent at this time in space anyway.

Meanwhile, LW Ville Peltonen, has gone over to the KHL to play for Belorussian outfit Dynamo Minsk. The team ended dead last in the league last season, but have now decided to invest heavily in to the playing squad. Ville is one in a line of foreign signings that will try and help the capital club find some success. And good luck to him!

The Miami Herald’s sportswriter, George Richards, has stoked the flames of speculation in his On Frozen Pond blog by claiming that the Florida Panthers may be on the verge of changing ownership:

“The NHL’s Board of Governors is meeting in Chicago this week with the sale of the Panthers from the Alan Cohen ownership group to the SPAC apparently on the agenda.”

Apparently that would mean it would indeed be on the agenda today, Wednesday, although the Phoenix Coyotes situation is likely to top the bill of discussions. The paper could not confirm these rumors so it remains as yet unknown if indeed an accord to sell the franchise has been struck or not – between Cohen’s ownership group and the SPAC, led by Andrew Murstein.

If indeed these rumors are correct it is possible that the Panthers have new owners by sundown tonight. However, both sides have been shrouding any potential negotiations in the utmost of secrecy; and so far very little has slipped out about the proposed deal. Hence we will just have to patiently wait and see…

On the lookout for a new GM?

One thing that a new ownership could come to have an immediate impact on is the appointment of a new Florida General Manager, according to that same report in the Herald:

“Murstein is reportedly close to former New York Rangers/Islanders GM Neil Smith, who [...] is one of a handful of finalists for the job as it stands today. The other finalists for the GM job: Sexton, Doug Reisbrough, Doug MacLean and Jeff Gorton.”

This goes against Mr. Richards earlier predictions the same day; betting that current inter-rim and Assistant GM Randy Sexton would get the job. Randy has of course been handling affairs ever since former GM Jacques Martin skipped the ship in early June, and it must be said, Sexton was left with a real mess to try and clean up after his former boss. Considering this, it would surely be terribly unfair if someone else stepped in and took over the ship – now that Sexton finally managed to get it back on an even keel again.

Personally I’m all for letting Randy Sexton continuing as Panthers General Manager; he has surely earned the right to give it a go. Having made all the tough off-season decisions – he deserves the chance to see where it leads. Give him a one-year deal and see how things look at the end of the campaign, then decide if outside help is needed to fill the position or not, that’s my five cents in the discussion. What’s your opinion in this matter?

Sexton himself remains philosophical about the current GM situation and the deals he’s made this off-season for the Panthers: “I’m pleased with what we have done,” he said to the Miami Herald. ”For me, it’s straight ahead, lots to do every day. I’m trying to make the team better, the organization better. The GM stuff will sort itself out.”

Panthers new Russian connections

It seems that Randy’s hands have been tied by the proposed sale, tight money-ropes and coach Peter DeBoer’s expressed wish to not make too many changes: ”We talked about a few deals, and he (DeBoer) encouraged me not to make them. He thinks there is more here, more upside,” Sexton revealed to Richards. The latter then goes on to predict the same Panthers line-up that I predicted here, several weeks ago, in my article “Do the Panthers Have What It Takes to Compete?”

Finally, Randy Sexton also said that he’s currently trying to sign this year’s top pick D Dmitry Kulikov before training camp. The Russian player has a KHL contract but has a buy-out trigger that the player himself can activate if he pays the money stipulated in that clause.

As for the other Russian question, the one I’ve reported here about LW Evgeni Dadonov, Sexton reveals the stance of the Florida Panthers is that Dadonov’s KHL contract “has expired” and that the protracted deal will be concluded before next season:

”He will be with the organization. It may take him a little while to adjust to the North American pro game, but he has very good hockey sense. Elite hockey sense. He’s not big, but crafty and clever. He has terrific potential. We all know there will be injuries. If he’s playing well [in Rochester], he’ll get up for some games.”