Peter Horachek Announced As New Rampage Head Coach

In an interesting bit of minor league news, Florida Panthers Assistant GM/San Antonio Rampage GM Mike Santos announced today that Peter Horachek has been named the new Head Coach of the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. However, even with Horachek taking over head coaching duties, former Head Coach Chuck Weber will remain with the team as San Antonio’s Director of Hockey Operations and Associate Head Coach. Additionally, former Rampage Assistant Coach Jason Cipolla will join the Florida Panthers coaching staff and serve as the team’s video coach.

In a statement released by the team, Panthers’ Assistant GM Mike Santos sounded very confident in Horachek’s coaching abilities.

“We are excited to welcome Peter to the organization,” said Santos. “He brings with him a proven track record of success in developing players at all levels. Chuck and Peter have formed a winning combination in the past and are the perfect tandem to lead our prospects in San Antonio.”

Hope At Center: Aleksander Barkov

Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones; these are two of the names Florida Panther fans are eagerly waiting to hear from Dale Tallon as he stands at the Prudential Centers podium on June 30th during the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have continued haunting the Florida Panthers organization by announcing earlier this week that their sights are set on Nathan MacKinnon, as well as every player that is not named Seth Jones.  Yes, that is right. There is a chance that Nathan MacKinnon may just be a distant hope and memory to the Florida Panther franchise. Which leaves us with the WHL’s golden boy, defenseman Seth Jones. But while there is no doubt in my mind that the Denver native will be a special player in the NHL someday, all I can think about are these 6 names: Dmitry Kulikov, Michael Matheson, Colby Robak, Mike Caruso, Erik Gudbranson, and Alex Petrovic. These are the names that make up our future defensive core. A very young and talented defensive unit. While Seth Jones may be slated to be “the next Chris Pronger”, this type of player is hardly a desperate need to our current roster, let alone our future one.

If you take a look at the Florida Panthers 2013-2014 roster for next season, you’ll notice a huge gaping hole where the 1^st line center position lies. While we may have a couple of solid future options as far as centermen go, Bjugstad and Trochek are no-where near ready to fill the vacant roster spot.

With MacKinnon possibly out of reach, and our hearts crushed, there is always another option. Possibly, the better option. His name is Aleksander Barkov.

Panther Parkway Headlines: Hawks Hoist Cup, Kane Gets Conn, Noel Returns, and More!

What better way to spend your lunch break than catching up on all of last night’s amazing NHL action that you may have missed! Here are the top stories and videos from the all of yesterday’s action around the NHL.

• Watch Hockey Night in Canada’s fantastic Stanley Cup Playoff montage.

• The Chicago Blackhawks have won the 2013 Stanley Cup in a wild finish. [Sportsnet]

• The Maple Leafs have made a qualifying offer to goaltender Jonathan Bernier. [TSN]