Cats & Coffee: New ECHL Affiliate; Sunrise Showdown

Good morning and welcome to "Cats & Coffee," a weekly segment, presented by Koffee Kult, in which we serve up an exciting look at what's on deck for your Florida Panthers. Like our friends at Koffee Kult, this forecast serves up only the best -- so sit back, sip and enjoy our latest brew of news, notes and information.
The Florida Panthers have put the finishing touches on their prospect pipeline.
After having already added the defending Calder Cup champion Charlotte Checkers as an AHL affiliate back in early September, the organization announced last week that they've now also entered into a multi-year affiliation agreement with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL.

"We are pleased to begin our affiliation with the Swamp Rabbits," Panthers Vice President of Player Personnel & Development Gregory Campbell said in a release. "This partnership is important to our organization as it provides new resources and exciting opportunities for the development of our young prospects."
Founded in 1987 as the Johnstown Chiefs -- one of the original ECHL's founding clubs -- the Swamp Rabbits relocated to South Carolina in 2010 as the Greenville Road Warriors before rebranding to their current name in 2015. Over the past 10 seasons, they've qualified for the postseason 10 times, including a run all the way to the Eastern Conference Final in 2014-15.
In terms of location, this deal couldn't have worked out any better for all of the parties involved.
While all three teams are tucked into the Southeastern corner of the United States, Greenville and Charlotte are particularly close, with a drive between the two cities take roughly two hours.
"Greenville provides the Florida Panthers and Charlotte Checkers an ideal situation to develop our prospects," Swamp Rabbits Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Derek Wilkinson said in a release. "This relationship also allows us to continue our collective focus to grow the game of hockey in the Carolinas in the coming years."
To learn more about the new affiliation, click HERE.

SUNRISE SHOWDOWN

It's time to put your gaming skills to the test.
Announced last week, registration for the inaugural "Sunrise Showdown" NHL 21 Online Tournament for XBOX One and PlayStation 4 is now open. Hosted by Level Gaming, the 1v1 competition will be held over the course of two days, with winners being crowned on Dec. 12.
The first-place winners on each console will each receive a custom Panthers jersey and the opportunity to play a Panthers player or personality in one game of NHL 21. As for the second-place finishers on each system, they will receive a $100 digital gift card to FlaTeamShop.com.
A maximum of 128 participants are eligible to compete on both XBOX One and PlayStation 4, so make sure to sign up for the event before all of the spots are filled up or registration closes. Select matches throughout the tournament will be aired live at
Twitch.tv/FlaPanthers
.
"We are excited to announce the launch of our inaugural 'Sunrise Showdown' tournament," said Panthers Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton. "As we work to grow the game of hockey in South Florida, we look at esports and FlaPanthers Gaming as an exciting and accessible way for new fans to learn the basics of the game and for current fans to also take their enjoyment of the game to another level by connecting to our organization through a new platform."
To see full rules and regulations or to register for the tournament, click HERE.

'TIS THE SEASON

The FLA Team Shop is open for business.
A brand-new online merchandise store, the FLA Team Shop offers a wide variety of awesome items, including apparel from brands such as Adidas, DKNY, Fanatics, 47 Brand and more. A go-to place for gifts, the store currently ships to the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
FLA Team Shop is also the exclusive online shop for "Inside the Boards," which features game-used equipment (sticks, skates, gloves, etc.) from Panthers players such as Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. The store also offers many unique collectibles, autographs and more.
As of last week, you can now also put in a pre-order for the team's new "Reverse Retro" jersey.

To peruse the store right now, visit
FLATeamShop.com
.

A NEW SOCIETY

Harkening back to the magic and excitement surrounding the organization's inaugural season in 1993-94, the Panthers recently re-launched their official newsletter as the '93 Society.
By being subscribed to this email, fans will be the first to receive exclusive merchandise offers, ticket promotions, pre-sale access and important information regarding upcoming events.
To stay up to date and connected with the Cats, fans can join the '93 Society by clicking HERE.

THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone that participated in this past weekend's Stache Dash 5K.
Presented by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, this virtual run was designed to raise awareness for men's cancer research and prevention. A disease that touches us all in one way or another, participants were encouraged to share who they were running for on social media.
Here are just a few of those inspiring posts:

Tweet from @MichaelRBodner: #FlaStacheDash Virtual 5K done in 24:47. As promised here is my epic Movember stache! 🏃🏻🏅#FlaPanthers https://t.co/E7zkAFfSxb pic.twitter.com/NINhQ6EoUf
You still have time to register and take part in the Stache Dash until 11 p.m. tonight. To register and for all the info click HERE.
We look forward to seeing you all again for our next 5K!

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

The Panthers made history when they hired Brett Peterson as an assistant general manager. Watch the clip below to see what the NHL Tonight crew had to say about the move last week.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, new Panthers forward Vinnie Hinostroza discusses his move to South Florida, expectations for the upcoming season and more! Plus, co-hosts Doug Plagens and Jameson Olive dive into some of their favorite "Reverse Retro" jerseys.
Territory Talk: Florida Panthers Podcast
·

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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The Panthers have named Shane Churla as the club's Director of Amateur Scouting. 
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Learn more about Kasper Puutio by reading his 2020 NHL Draft Player Card.
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Panthers Prospects are putting in work overseas right now. 
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The Panthers will have 10 prospects competing at the NCAA level this season.
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Brett Peterson was recently named as an Assistant General Manager with the Panthers. 
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Learn more about Devin Levi by reading his 2020 NHL Draft Player Card.
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You can take a virtual tour of BB&T Center right now!
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Purchase a signed "mystery puck" to support the Florida Panthers Foundation. 
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The Panthers are now on Twitch!
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Search for treasure within the Panthers Virtual Vault, presented by Baptist Health.