Good morning and welcome to "Cats & Coffee," a weekly segment presented by Community Coffee in which we get you caffeinated with an exciting look at the week ahead for the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers will make their return to the BB&T Center this week, kicking off their seven-game preseason schedule with an exciting doubleheader against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

"It's more about guys trying to prove themselves and getting their feet wet," center Nick Bjugstad said of the preseason. "It's a lot of guys first time with the organization. Throwing on that jersey will be fun, especially with the new logo. It'll be a lot of fun to play again."

The back-to-back contests will be played at 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively, with any ticket purchased to either of the games also granting access to the other. If you are interested in attending, please click here. 

"A lot of guys will be playing in those games," head coach Gerard Gallant said. "Kids deserve those chances. They like to play in exhibitions games. It'll be fun."

Following the doubleheader, the Panthers will head across the state to visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Amalie Arena. Then, after a brief stint back in Sunrise, the team will head to London, Ontario, for a special game against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, Oct. 2 at Budweiser Gardens, home of the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights.

"We are very excited to showcase Panthers hockey outside of South Florida to a great hockey town like London," Panthers Executive Chairman Peter Luukko said. "Budweiser Gardens is a first class facility and an excellent venue for fans to watch two exciting, 2015-16 division-winning teams, Florida and Dallas face off. It is sure to be a terrific event for both the players and the city of London."

Budweiser Gardens has previously hosted a number NHL teams through the years for preseason games, with the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs most recently playing an exhibition contest there on Sept. 22, 2014.

Tickets can be purchased at BudweiserGardens.com or by phone at 1-866-455-2849.

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Florida Panthers are ready for their close up.

In a day filled with medical tests, photo shoots and endless interviews, the only thing shining brighter than the flash of the cameras was the smiles etched onto each player's face as they made their way through the Media Day gauntlet at the BB&T Center on Thursday.

"We're ready to get going," center Nick Bjugstad said. "I'm honestly getting sick of playing shinny hockey. I'm ready to get going and play some real hockey, get training camp going. We'll have a hard working training camp and then be ready to go."

After racking up a franchise-record 103 points and winning the Atlantic Division last season, the Panthers suddenly find themselves in uncharted waters as they attempt to follow-up last year's historic performance with an even better showing in 2016-17. No longer one of the league's best-kept secrets, Florida is no longer viewed as a team on the rise, but rather one that has already arrived and ready to compete for a Stanley Cup.

The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon at the Panthers IceDen, capping off a perfect rookie tournament showing in which they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 14-8.

Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations Dale Tallon announced today that 51 players (27 forwards, 17 defensemen, 7 goaltenders) will attend the club's training camp which will open with medical and physical testing on Thursday, Sept. 22. The Panthers will hold their first on-ice practice of training camp on Friday, Sept. 23, beginning at 9:45 a.m. at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, FL.

19-year-old Malgin scored three goals to help lift the Panthers to a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in front of another capacity crowd at the Panthers IceDen on Sunday night, improving Florida's overall record in the annual rookie tournament to a perfect 2-0.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - The Florida Panthers are off to a hot start at this year's Rookie Tournament, defeating the Nashville Predators 6-3 in front of a packed house at the Panthers IceDen on Saturday night.

This weekend is a hockey weekend.

That's right, come on out to the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs for this year's rookie tournament this weekend for some quality free hockey. The Panthers will play host to the Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals for the tournament, and the teams are in action tomorrow, Sunday and Tuesday.

Click here for a roster, and below is the full rookie tournament schedule:

Saturday, Sept. 17

Washington vs. Tampa Bay - 2:30 p.m.

Nashville at Florida - 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 18

Nashville vs. Tampa Bay - 2:30 p.m.

Washington at Florida - 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 20

Nashville vs. Washington - 10:00 a.m.

Tampa Bay at Florida - 1:30 p.m.

*Times are subject to change

JERSEYS ON SALE THIS WEEK

"But, FloridaPanthers.com," you may be thinking, "What am I supposed to do on Monday?"

We've got you covered there, too. Come to the BB&T Center between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. for some special hours at Pantherland! Pick up new gear and merchandise. And, if you pre-ordered a jersey, it'll be available for pickup.

Here are the full Pantherland special hours.

Monday 9/19: 3 p.m.-8 p.m.

Tuesday 9/20: 5-8 p.m.

Wednesday 9/21: 5-8 p.m.

Thursday 9/22: 5-8 p.m.

Friday 9/23: 5-8 p.m.

Before they begin their quest to capture a second consecutive Atlantic Division title, several of the Florida Panthers' rising stars must first take on a much larger opponent - the world.

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey officially gets underway on Saturday, with more than 150 of the best hockey players in the world ready to battle for international bragging rights in the recently revitalized best-on-best competition.

The tournament will take place over a two-week period, from Sept. 17 - Oct. 1, and all games will be played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, home of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.

The eight teams participating in this year's World Cup are Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Finland, Team Russia, Team Sweden, Team USA, Team Europe and Team North America.

These teams have been split into two Groups, Group A and Group B, for the Preliminary Round (Sept. 17-22), when each team will play its three Group opponents in a round-robin format.

The top two finishers in Group A and Group B will advance to the Semifinals (Sept. 24-25), where the first-place team from each Group will face an elimination game against the second-place team from the other Group. The two Semifinal winners will then meet in the Final, a best-of-three series on Sept. 27, Sept. 29 and, if necessary, Oct. 1.

This tournament isn't like any you've ever seen before, however, as traditional international powerhouses such as Canada and the United States will face off against a pair of new and exciting multi-national super teams in Team Europe and Team North America.

Team Europe is comprised of players from all other European countries outside of Finland, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Russia, while Team North America consists of the best players from the United States and Canada who are 23 or younger as of Oct. 1, 2016.

Aaron Ekblad , Vincent Trocheck , Aleksander Barkov and Jussi Jokinen will be representing the Panthers at this year's World Cup. Trocheck is playing alongside Ekblad on Team North America, while Barkov and Jokinen are both competing for Team Finland.

Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant, who was an All-Star and finalist for the Jack Adams trophy last season, is serving as an assistant coach for Team North America.

With only a few day left until the puck drops, here is everything else that Panthers fans need to know about 2016 World Cup of Hockey:

TEAMS

Group A
Team Canada
Team Czech Republic
Team Europe
Team USA

Group B
Team Finland
Team North America
Team Russia
Team Sweden

It's a city built on the foundations of innovation and resurgence, a place where countless ideas have been built, torn down and put back together in search for perfection. It's where a gym teacher named James Naismith first introduced the world to a game he called "basket ball" and where Merriam Webster diligently penned the first American-English dictionary.

It is also within the fabric of this long, rich history that some of hockey's earliest and strongest roots can be found. Long before they were the Thunderbirds, Springfield's hockey team was known as the Indians, who first called Western Massachusetts home in 1926 when they were a part of the Canadian-American Hockey League.

"The hockey in this community is important for so many different reasons," said Bruce Landon, who has worked with Springfield in nearly every facet, from player to co-owner, since 1977. "You can't even imagine not having hockey in Springfield after having been here for so long… This team is going to be here for the long haul. We have smart hockey fans. They've been here a really long time and they understand the game."

As Springfield's latest American Hockey League franchise, and affiliate of the Florida Panthers, the Thunderbirds will look to build upon a storied history that includes seven Calder cup titles - from 1960-62, and again in 1971, 1975, 1990 and 1991.