Top-pick Gracyn Sawchyn getting taste of NHL at Panthers development camp
CORAL SPRINGS — It feels like the Florida Panthers haven’t had time yet to catch their breath from the end of the season.
And neither has Gracyn Sawchyn.
The Panthers’ top-pick in this year’s draft has been on a run of his own too.
His season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League ended with a championship on May 19, followed by a loss in the Canadian Hockey League championship game on June 4. He participated in the NHL scouting combine from June 4-10 in Buffalo, and then was at the NHL draft two weeks ago in Nashville.
Now, the 18-year-old second-rounder is not only in Florida for the very first time, but is also soaking up everything possible as a first-time participant in the Panthers’ development camp.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Sawchyn said Tuesday. “Obviously a long season, and then straight to the combine and then the draft right after. So pretty crazy, but pretty awesome at the same time.”
Sawchyn is one of the youngest players at camp this week, eight years younger than Swiss goaltender Ludovic Waeber, who signed a one-year entry-level contract last month.
But for Sawchyn, Waeber and the 35 others participating in the development camp, the week is not just about showing off talent. Building relationships and learning how an NHL organization is run is also important too.
“It’s really good, super professional,” Sawchyn said. “Obviously a huge step from juniors and stuff, so that’s good to see and kind of just see what you need to do to get to the next level.”
The first day of camp on Monday was focused mainly on individual skating drills. Goalies were off on another rink, while the skaters worked on their techniques.
Tuesday was a more mixed session that brought the goaltenders back with the skaters. They ran drills that emphasized shooting off the rush, winning puck battles in the corner and more.
“It’s awesome,” Sawchyn said. “They treat us amazing, even though we’re not on the team or anything like that. It’s been really good.”
The prospects spend all day together and it’s not just at the rink. They are staying at a hotel on the beach, attended the Blink 182 concert Tuesday night at FLA Live Arena, have a cooking class planned and more.
“I’m not very good at cooking, so we’ll see how that goes,” Sawchyn said. “Concert’s obviously fun. I haven’t seen Blink 182, or whatever it’s called.”
It’s all a ramp up to Friday morning’s Group A vs. Group B scrimmage to conclude the week. Sawchyn will be among the more heavily-watched prospects during the hour-long scrimmage, but so will many others.
He said getting stronger (he’s currently 5 foot 11, 157 pounds) and cleaning up his skating are two areas he’s focused on improving.
“We have good kids that want to learn and work,” Charlotte Checkers coach Geordie Kinnear said Monday. “It makes my job pretty easy.”
Then, Sawchyn will finally have time to relax and process the past two whirlwind months.
He’ll play at least one more season with the Thunderbirds and be back here for rookie camp, which isn’t all that far down the road.
“I look forward to it,” Sawchyn said. “This is just the first step. So make a good first impression here and then hopefully at rookie camp.”