For many years, the Florida Panthers have struggled at drafting in the later rounds. While the Cats often hit on early picks, their later rounds are filled with more swings and misses. While the Panthers have had some hits with Denis Malgin and MacKenzie Weegar for instance, their list of misses run strong and the list is certainly a long one.
However, in 2017, the Cats may have changed their fortune in the early second round when they picked center Aleksi Heponiemi, who was just adjusting to the North American game.
Frankly, Heponiemi was a relatively underrated and undercooked prospect.