Q&A: Sebrango talks donkeys, teammate trips & more!

FORT LAUDERDALE – Right in the mix.

Claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators by the Florida Panthers at the beginning of the season, Donovan Sebrango has already made memories to last a lifetime with his new teammates both on and off the ice.

In his first season with the Panthers, the 24-year-old defenseman has racked up two assists, 19 blocked shots and 41 hits in 23 games.

"Great guy," Mackie Samoskevich said of Sebrango. "We get along really well. Works very hard, that's one thing that I noticed right away. He plays a hard game, which is what we do here."

Following a recent practice at Baptist Health IcePlex, I had the chance to sit down with Sebrango to discuss his first year with the Panthers and much more. 

DARRAGH: How much have you enjoyed your first season as a Panther? 

SEBRANGO: I've loved it. I mean, the guys, to the coaches, to training staff, to everybody. I truly love every single person here, and they welcomed me with open arms. I'm having the time of my life, and every day I get to come to the rink, it's an honor. I have a lot of fun here, and they've been great for me. 

DARRAGH: What has been the highlight so far? 

SEBRANGO: I think just my first game here. We played against Dallas, and Marchy (Brad Marchand) won it in the shootout. I think just kind of getting to finally experience the atmosphere and being around Stanley Cup champions, I think that was a cool moment that I'll always cherish. The first time putting on that jersey, kind of still gives me goosebumps. 

DARRAGH: We saw on social media that you spent part of the Olympic break in Cabo with Mackie Samoskevich and Cole Scwindt. What were the best parts of the trip? 

SEBRANGO: Seth Jones has a boat down there, and he let us borrow it, whether it was a good idea by him or not [smiles]. We had so much fun. We went snorkeling. They had a little machine that dives us right down to the bottom, so watching Mackie and Cole do that was pretty funny. I think that was by far the best.

DARRAGH: How would you describe the dynamic of your crew with Mackie and Cole? 

SEBRANGO: I think everybody would have a different opinion, but I think just kids at heart. They quickly became two of my best friends, and we have so much fun. We spend pretty much every day together, so it's definitely a great dynamic. It definitely kind of takes the stress away from the season when you got two guys that close. 

DARRAGH: When she’s not posting about the Panthers, fans have enjoyed your mom sharing photos of your family donkeys. What’s the story there? 

SEBRANGO: I honestly don't know how she became so interested in donkeys. I know when TikTok came out, she was sending me videos of mini donkeys in the summer. I think it's two years we've had them now. She found two for a pretty good price and said it'd be her Christmas gift if she really wanted them, I'd get her them. Since the day she's got them, she’s loved them. You look outside on any given day and she's outside hugging them, cuddling them, playing with their toys with them. They're a little spoiled, but she loves it. 

DARRAGH: You have a lot of pretty cool tattoos. Can you kind of take us through your favorite ones and meaning behind them? 

SEBRANGO: I think my number one has got to be my Joker tattoo on my bicep here. It says, fight your fight. Then probably my Peaky Blinders one. Everybody seems to love that one. When I first got here, they called me Thomas Shelby. I got a Kobe Bryant tattoo here. One of my favorite athletes that's sadly passed. I just had a little opening, and that's a guy that I really looked up to and really motivated me. 

DARRAGH: Any plans for future tattoos? 

SEBRANGO: I think the guys give it to me a lot about tattoos, but I like the movie or the show Vikings on Netflix. I think I can tie that up around Peaky Blinders, just do kind of a cool movie character theme on my leg, even though guys like to give me a crap for that, but I think it's pretty cool.