Cats & Coffee: Hockeyfest at Panthers IceDen

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.
Hockey is a quickly becoming a year-round sport in South Florida.

The Florida Panthers will be hosting their eighth annual Hockeyfest on Saturday, May 5 at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, giving local hockey fans a unique chance to demo some of the game's latest and greatest sticks, skates and more through an unbeatable interactive experience.
Hockeyfest will run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and features exclusive demo opportunities from some of the sport's top equipment manufacturers, including Bauer, CCM, SnipeShow, Vaughn and True.
If you're not into skating, there will also be plenty of fun activities for non-hockey players to enjoy outside of the facility, such as street hockey, music, inflatables, a video game truck and some great lunch options from the best local food trucks.
As usual, this family-friendly event is free and open to the public, but if you'd like to hit the ice public skating will also be available from 1-3 p.m. for a mere $10.50 admission and $4 skate rental.
Still not sold? Check out the video below for a look at last year's Hockeyfest.

See you there!

DRAFT LOTTERY RESULTS

The NHL Draft Lottery came and went with no surprises for the Panthers.
The best team not to make the playoffs this season, Florida will officially select 15th overall in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft on June 22 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Panthers have never held the 15th overall pick.
"Since our 96-point season ended, my focus has been dedicated to scouting and preparing for the Draft," said Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon. "Now that we know that we'll own the 15th overall pick, and two of the top-35 picks in the draft, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to add more talented, high-character young players to the Florida Panthers organization."
In addition to their first-round selection, Florida also owns five other picks in the upcoming draft, including a pick in the second round (via Arizona), fourth round (via Vegas), fifth round, sixth round and seventh round.
Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com in the coming weeks for draft updates.

MY WEEKEND IN SOUTH FLORIDA

The Panthers released the first "My Weekend in South Florida" article this past week, a brand new written series created to provide fans with some fun insights into how their favorite players spend their free time in the Sunshine State.
In the first article of the series, forward Nick Bjugstad discusses his favorite local restaurants, his abilities as a boat captain and how teammate Alexander Petrovic always seems to end up on his couch.
"He lives right down the road," Bjugstad said. "He'll sometimes just pop in the house and open the fridge with no warning. He actually lived with me and my fiancée for a little bit. There's been a few times where I've walked in on him just napping on our couch when I didn't even know he was there."
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
A new entry in the series will be posted on FloridaPanthers.com every Friday.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Check out the
  Panthers top-10 moments from the 2017-18 season
  .
  - REWIND:
  Keith Yandle provided plenty of points from the blue line for the Panthers this season
  .
  - REWIND:
  Aleksander Barkov ascended to superstar status this season
  .
  - The
  Panthers had no shortage of toughness under Bob Boughner
  .
  - In the latest episode of Territory Talk, we sat down with Panthers Senior Vice President of Business Operations Shawn Thorton to discuss his forway into the business world and the continued success of The Shawn Thornton Foundation.