Rats Roundup: Let's Boogie

Let's Boogie, Cats fans.
The Panthers made waves in the hockey world on Monday with the announcement of Bob Boughner as the club's next head coach. What separated Boughner from the pack? Here's Panthers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Dale Tallon:

"During the interview process, Bob blew us away with his preparation, his passion, knowledge and dedication to the game. We believe that he is the right leader to get our team back to competing towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup."
Here's the team's official press release
, which runs down Boughner's qualifications and some of the stars he's helped develop over the years.
As for the man himself, our own Jameson Olive sat down with Boughner for an in-depth chat that's
absolutely worth the read.

Draft Day Comin'

We're now just one week away from this year's NHL Draft -
and the watch party at Bokamper's!
- and the Cats hold the 10th pick in the first round. While this is certainly a great opportunity for the franchise to continue to bolster its pool of young talent, it also provides a wealth of opportunities for #quality #content.
So, naturally, we made some. Lucky you!
First of all,
we profiled five North American skaters to watch
, who could be available when the Cats get on the clock. Spoilers: there's a ton of skill on that list.
We also got Mike Matheson on the phone to
chat about his draft day experience
. Back in 2012, the Cats selected Matheson out of Dubuque (USHL), and he went off to Boston College to continue his development. Since then, he's become a key cog in the Cats defensive corps and one of the best young blue-liners in the league.
There's a lot of good stuff in there, but here's one of the more personal (and adorable) quotes about the process:
FloridaPanthers.com: When did you finally take off your draft-day jersey?
MATHESON: I probably didn't take it off until dinner that night. We found a little restaurant after the draft to go to and have dinner - we were all starving! I think that's when I took it off. Now, it's hanging up in my bedroom in my parent's house.

Quick-Hitters:

-

• The
  incredible story
  of how an impromptu push-up contest turned into a scholarship for four area #teens.
  - A
  Q&A with Bill Torrey
  , who's built three teams through the expansion draft, on his experience and what the Vegas Golden Knights should expect next week.
  -

at our new adidas threads.
- Coming soon:

• The Panthers
  promoted Bryan McCabe to Director of Player Personnel
  !
  - Jared McCann's

.