Don't forget about the Panthers

Granted, the Florida Panthers may not pack the big names of such Eastern Conference teams as Pittsburgh, Washington and Carolina, but any hound worth his or her salt needs to make at least one trip for South Florida’s best hockey players.

I made the trip earlier today over the Gandy Bridge and was rewarded for my effort. Not only did I score the 1,200th autographed puck of the collection, but I also added another 29 autographs, including a Panthers jersey, personalized to Colin, from Jay Bouwmeester.

With such stars as Olli Jokinen, Ed Belfour, Gary Roberts, Bouwmeester and Martin Gelinas, solid veterans in Chris Gratton and Jozef Stumpel as well as promising prospects Bryan Allen, Alex Auld, Nathan Horton, Rostislav Olesz and Stephen Weiss, the team is definitely worth hounding.

And let’s not forget about Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin, who works as TV analyst for the Panthers. No, I didn’t forget about Todd Bertuzzi. Sidelined by injury but reportedly days away from playing, Bertuzzi wasn’t seen this morning.

Pucks shown above, from left, are:

Vancouver Canucks: Bryan Allen
Los Angeles Kings: Olli Jokinen (No. 1,199 of the collection)
Ottawa 67’s: Gary Roberts