‘Blown Away’: Panthers hit the ice for first practice at FTL War Memorial

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers got an early Christmas present.

Gaining a massive new foothold in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale, the Panthers officially kicked off the first phase of the ongoing opening of the revitalized FTL War Memorial with the first official team practice at the new Baptist Health IcePlex on Friday.

“I feel like Santa Claus has arrived early,” Panthers President & CEO Matt Caldwell smiled. “We’ve been working on this for a number of years now. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into making this really first class. … I just saw the players and they were just blown away.”

They certainly were.

“It’s the best one I’ve ever seen,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said shortly after getting off the ice. “It’s not even the room or the rink, it’s everything we have here. It’s the setup, it’s the location. I’ve obviously been to a lot of practice facilities throughout the league and this one blows them all away. We’re very lucky to be the guys that are able to come here and work to get better each and every day. They’re giving us every single tool to succeed.”

A new home away from home for the Panthers, FTL War Memorial features two regulation-size rinks, including a dedicated community ice rink that is slated to host programming for all ages, as well as the state-of-the-art Baptist Health IcePlex, the team’s brand-new official practice hub.

The facility also features a gym, player lounge, recovery rooms, film room and much more.

Stepping outside, players can also enjoy outdoor workouts at Holiday Park.

“It makes you want to work even harder,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “The gym is really nice here. There’s no excuses for you not to end up at the gym or work hard in practice. Everything is here for you to be a better player and better athlete.”

For players that live downtown, the commute to the new facility is also a big perk.

Some drove golf carts, some rode bikes and a handful even walked this morning.

Gone are the days of trudging through traffic on I-595 to get to practice.

“Everyone lives right around the area,” Tkachuk said. “We’re all pretty jacked up about it.”

Just another perk of playing for the Panthers.

“Talking with people that have played here over this last year and a bit, there’s no team that treats their players like they do down here in Florida,” Tkachuk said. “It’s such a great place to play, and then you add this on top of it. I feel like the luckiest guy to be able to play here.”

With stadium seating available at the Baptist Health IcePlex, fans will soon be able to come watch the Panthers fly up and down the ice just a few blocks away from Las Olas.

For both players and fans, the location is ideal.

“I never played in a rink this nice as a kid,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “Now kids are going to be able to play here. After a hockey game, you can say, ‘You know, I’ll go play pickleball or run around the soccer field.’ It’s so exciting from that standpoint, too. It’s a big deal for the franchise. It’s a big deal for the community.”

Looking ahead, Caldwell said the Panthers are planning to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for FTL War Memorial in early 2024. Around that time, more information on the facility being open to the public, as well as news on upcoming hockey and skating programming, should be available.

Down the road, the facility will also feature a ballroom style concert performance venue.

“Anything this high caliber is going to take a lot of hard work,” Caldwell said.

When it comes to attracting players, the facility should also be a great recruitment tool.

“It cannot be overstated how important it is, particularly in this day and age of health and wellness and performance, players want to get better,” Zito said. “Players want facilities. Players want to improve, and they want to do it all the time. This is a fantastic tool for that.”

For the Panthers, bringing more ice to the Sunshine State is what it's all about.

“We want to be everywhere in Broward County,” Caldwell said. “We have our arena in Sunrise. We have three sheets of ice in Coral Springs that we’re going to continue to run. … Now we have two more sheets out in Fort Lauderdale. We always talked about being from the Everglades to the beaches, and we’re sure covering the whole county now.”