After some wheeling and dealing, Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito made a total of six selections on the second day of the 2024 NHL Draft at the spectacular Sphere in Las Vegas.
Coming into Saturday without a second-rounder, Zito acquired the 58th overall pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs and selected Swede Linus Erikkson – a high floor, low ceiling center with speed and a motor that revs all day. The Maple Leafs received Florida’s second round pick in 2025 and its seventh round (225th overall) in 2024 as the cost of doing business.
The Panthers used their third round pick (97th overall) on left-shooting Russian defenseman Matvei Shuravin, who spent the majority of the last two seasons with Kransnaya Armiya of the MHL. Shuravin has a good frame and the potential to become a late-blooming gem. He is under contract to CSKA Moscow for two more seasons.
Florida’s fourth round pick (129th overall) was Simon Zether, another Swedish pivot, who appeared in 42 games with Rögle BK of the SHL as an 18-year-old. The rangy Zether collected just four helpers playing at the top-level and needs to work on his skating.
As Zim predicted on Friday. the Panthers continued to go heavy at center after trading their fifth round pick (141st overall) to the Seattle Kraken for a sixth and seventh-rounder, selecting 17-year-old Stepan Gorbunov 169th overall. Gorbunov is a 6′-5″ project who is considered a potential late-round steal. He produced 10 goals and 12 assists during his first season in the MHL.
With their own sixth round pick (193rd overall), the Cats selected Hunter St. Martin. While he has the name that sounds like should’ve been a ’70s yacht rock session keyboardist, St. Martin is actually a smooth-skating left wing who amassed 24 goals and 52 points in 68 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers in his second full Western Hockey League season.
The Panthers used the second pick they received from the Kraken (201st overall) on Russian goaltender Denis Gabdrakhmanov. Gabdrakhmanov turned 19-years-old a week ago and has good size. He posted a .924 save percentage and 2.54 GAA in 40 MHL games with Tyumenski Legion.
There you have it, the Florida Panthers Draft Class of 2024. Litter Box Cats will take a more in-depth look at these prospects as the summer rolls on.