2020 Draft Check-In: Lundell Leads Intriguing Class of Panthers Prospects

The Panthers have to be happy with the immediate returns on their most-recent draft class.
Highlighted by the slam-dunk selection of Anton Lundell in Round 1, the organization added nine total players to their ever-growing prospect pool over the course of a very busy two-day digital draft in October, a group that featured five forwards, three defensemen and one goalie.

For Bill Zito, the draft was also his first as general manager of the Panthers.
"We focused on the best player available," Zito said after the draft concluded. "It was an arduous task. I can't give enough credit to the scouts. We put in a copious amount of work over the last 10 days since I got here. I really have to give them so much credit, with a new guy coming in and questioning them… Pretty much every decision they made, I challenged them on.
"Many times and instances that I really didn't have the wherewithal from which to challenge, but I kept pushing them to reconsider everything they did. They put in so many long hard hours of work… We were fortunate enough to get a range of players. We're really content and happy with the skill level and the ability of the players as well as their character."
Although it hasn't even been a year since they were drafted, many of these picks are already looking very promising, with a few of them inching closer and closer to the "steal" category.
With that in mind, and with the 2021 NHL Draft set to be held digitally once again on July 23-24, here's a snapshot of how the members of the 2020 class performed on the ice this past season.

Anton Lundell (1st round, 13th overall)

Position:C DOB: Oct. 3, 2001 (Espoo, Finland)
Height: 6'1'' Weight: 185 lbs.
Shoots: Left
2020-21 Team: HIFK (Liiga)
Lundell turned heads and piled up the hardware this past season.
Prior to inking a three-year, entry-level contract with the Panthers in June, the 19-year-old center kicked off his unforgettable campaign by captaining Finland to a bronze medal and finishing third in tournament scoring with 10 points (six goals, four assists) at the IIHF World Junior Championship, including racking up two goals against Russia in the third-place game.
Later put to the test against grown men at the World Championship earlier this summer, he then claimed a silver medal while pacing Finland scoring with seven points (four goals, three assists).

"It's been one year that I will always remember," Lundell said after signing with Florida. "I've been able to win medals with every team that I've been paying with this year. That gives me a lot of confidence. Too bad we weren't able to win the gold, but we had a good year. I just tried to play my best game and show everyone how good I am and what level I can play at."
When he wasn't filling up his mantle on the international stage, he also produced at nearly a point-per-game clip during his third season in Liiga. Appearing in 26 games with HIFK, he had 25 points (16 goals, nine assists), not including one goal and two assists in eight playoff games.
Lundell is expected to compete for a spot with the Panthers in 2021-22.

Emil Heineman (2nd round, 43rd overall)

Position:LW
DOB:Nov. 16, 2001 (Leksand, Sweden)
Height:6'1''
Weight:185 lbs.
Shoots: Left
2020-21 Team:Leksands IF J20 (J20 SuperElit) / Leksands IF (SHL)
Heineman tallied 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 43 games in the SHL this past season.
On April 12, the Panthers traded his rights along with a 2022 second-round draft pick to the Flames in exchange for forward Sam Bennett. A revelation after his arrival, Bennett went on to post 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 10 games with Florida to close out the regular season.
In the postseason, Bennett recorded five points (one goal, four assists) against the Lightning.

Ty Smilanic (3rd round, 74th overall)

Position:C
DOB:Jan. 20, 2002 (Denver, CO)
Height:6'1''
Weight:175 lbs.
Shoots:Left
2020-21 Team:Quinnipiac University
Smilanic more than lived up to the hype as the highest-drafted player in Quinnipiac's history.
Earning a spot on the ECAC's All-Rookie Team, the 19-year-old forward recorded 21 points (14 goals, seven assists) while playing in all 29 games for the Bobcats - the only freshman ever to do so. Filling up the back of the net, his 14 goals also ranked first in the nation among rookies.
Showing off his consistency, he posted a pair of three-game goal streaks during the season.

Among his many accolades, Smilanic was named the ECAC's Rookie of the Week three times, the ECAC's Rookie of the Month in February, and was a finalist for ECAC'S Rookie of the Year.
In June, Smilanic received an invitation to USA's summer camp for the World Juniors.

Justin Sourdif (3rd round, 87th overall)

Position: C
DOB:March 24, 2002 (Surrey, BC)
Height: 5'11'' Weight: 173 lbs.
Shoots: Right
2020-21 Team:Vancouver Giants (WHL)
Sourdif saw an uptick in his offensive numbers during his fourth campaign in the WHL.
Producing at better than a point-per-game clip for the first time in his career, the 19-year-old forward led the Giants and ranked tied for third in the WHL with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 22 games during the 2020-21 season, with nine of those points coming on the power play.

Catching fire during the second half, Sourdif produced 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) during a 10-game span from Jan. 26 through Feb. 21. During that torrid stretch, he recorded six multi-point performances, including racking up four points during a 5-2 win over Victoria on Feb. 14.

Michael Benning (4th round, 95th overall)

Position:D
DOB:Jan. 5, 2002 (St. Albert, AB)
Height:5'9''
Weight:177 lbs.
Shoots:Right
2020-21 Team:University of Denver (NCAA)
Benning burst onto the scene during his freshman season at Denver.
Tied for first among Pioneers defensemen in scoring, the 19-year-old compiled 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 21 games. Coming up in the clutch, two of those goals came during the third period of a 5-4 victory over Omaha in the quarterfinals of the NCHC playoffs on March 13.
Kicking off his collegiate career with a bang, Benning tallied five assists in his first three games.

Benning is expected to be back on the blue line for the Pioneers in 2021-22.

Zachary Uens (4th round, 105th overall)

Position: D
DOB:May 13, 2001 (Bellville, ON)
Height:6'1''
Weight:180 lbs.
Shoots:Left
2020-21 Team:Merrimack College (NCAA)
Uens continued to produce during his sophomore season at Merrimack.
Appearing in 14 games with the Warriors, the 20-year-old defenseman registered seven points (one goal, six assists), 23 shots on goal and 18 blocked shots. Showing off his soft touch from the blue line, two of those six assists came during a 6-2 win over New Hampshire on Feb. 20.

Uens is expected to return to Merrimack for his junior season in 2021-22.

Kasper Puutio (5th round, 153rd overall)

Position:D DOB: June 3, 2002 (Vaasa, Finland)
Height:5'11''
Weight:180 lbs.
Shoots:Right
2020-21 Team: Karpat (Liiga) / Karpat U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
Returning home after spending the 2019-20 campaign in the WHL, Puutio put his skills to the test for the first time against grown men while lacing up his skates in Liiga this past season.
Manning the blue line in 29 games with Karpat (not including a two-game stint with the club's U20 team), the ¬19-year-old defenseman notched three points (two goals, one assist). During the middle of the season, he also took a break to play at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Winning bronze, Puutio posted a pair of assists while appearing in all seven games for Finland, including being named the team's player of the game during a 4-3 loss to USA in the semifinals.
Puutio is expected to suit up with KalPa in Liiga during the 2021-22 season.

Elliott Ekmark (7th round, 198th overall)

Position: C
DOB:Jan. 29, 2002 (Linköping, Sweden)
Height: 5'9'' Weight: 162 lbs.
Shoots: Left
2020-21 Team:Linköping HC J20 (J20 SuperElit) / Linköping HC (SHL)
An undersized speedster, Ekmark got plenty of experience this past season.
Getting a good taste of life in the professional ranks, the 19-year-old registered one goal in 31 games with Linköping HC in the SHL (a sharp increase from just four games in 2019-20) while facing down grown men each and every shift on a regular basis for the first time in his career.
Understandably putting up some better numbers within his own age group, he also produced consistently for Linköping's U20 club, racking up two goals and eight assists in seven games.
In June, Ekmark received an invitation to Sweden's summer camp for the World Juniors.

Devon Levi (7th round, 212th overall)

Position:G DOB: Dec. 27, 2001 (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC)
Height:6'0'' Weight: 184 lbs.
Catches:Left
2020-21 Team: Northeastern University (NCAA)
Levi didn't play much this past season, but when he did the results were spectacular.
Making waves at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in January, the seventh-round steal transitioned from longshot to leading man in net for Canada. Heading home with a silver medal, he finished the tournament 6-1-0 with a .075 goals-against average and .964 save percentage.
Going toe-to-toe with fellow Panthers prospect Spencer Knight, who guided USA to a 2-0 win over Canada in the gold-medal game, Levi also tied a tournament record with three shutouts.

"There's a lot of hard work that's gone into it, for sure," Levi said early on in the tournament. "At the end of the day, I was just playing the game that I love. I put in a lot of extra work, but for me it wasn't really 'extra work,' it was just more time to play the game I love and more ice time."
After setting records for goals-against average and save percentage at the World Juniors, Levi, who was named the top goaltender at the tournament, returned to Northeastern University, but unfortunately did not appear in any games during his freshman season due to an injury.
Still just 19 years old, Levi is poised for a strong sophomore campaign in 2021-22.