FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The defending Stanley Cup champions’ training camp commenced in late September on two separate rinks at the Baptist Health Iceplex, the Florida Panthers’ practice facility. Patric Hornqvist, now a scouting and development consultant for the mighty Panthers , was eager to observe the action on both sheets of ice.
Legs churning, not unlike when he played for 15 ferocious NHL seasons, Hornqvist raced back and forth between the two rinks, not wanting to miss a thing. Advertisement Some things never change. “I had the time of my life in Pittsburgh,” Hornqvist said.
“I tried to take some of those lessons to my role here.” Hornqvist and his trademark intensity carry on for the Panthers in a front-office role, a couple of years after he last played in an NHL game. He earned his third Stanley Cup ring in June, when the Panthers held off an Edmonton Oilers surge in a classic Stanley Cup Final.
“Unbelievable guy,” said Matthew Tkachuk , the face of hockey in south Florida. “He makes a real difference with us. He changed everything when he showed up.
” Once upon a time, he made a real difference in Pittsburgh: one never experienced before his arrival, nor matched after his departure. The glory days of the Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang era in Pittsburgh were triggered by Jim Rutherford’s first trade as general manager, when he traded a talented, stylish goal scorer in James Neal for the fierce substance player that was Hornqvis.
