FORWARD ALEKSANDER BARKOV
On how this season felt and the direction the Panthers are heading for next season:
“I think we took a huge step forward with the organization, with the team in the right direction. We played really good hockey over almost every game in the season, even in the playoffs we played good hockey, just couldn’t come up with the wins that we needed. Huge step forward but we’re not satisfied, we’re not done. This is just the beginning, really looking forward to next season. But first, get some rest.”
On how he personally took this season to another level:
“I did take a huge step forward this year, mentally and physically. It all started before the bubble, I just settled down a little bit and started thinking about who I am, what am I doing. Since I turned 16 and played my first pro game in Finland, it’s just been playing hockey every day and playing with men, living the dream, didn’t really have time to think about what’s going on. Last summer I had lots of time to sit down and just think about what happened. I came up with some things that I can do better, I can be better at, I need to learn how to do this, I need to practice this. I came up with things I’m good at, I can keep continuing doing this. Obviously I had a lot of good people around me to help me within the organization and outside the organization too.”
On learning how hard it is to succeed in the playoffs:
“I can say we learned a lot from Tampa. They won the cup last year, they know how to do it, they have a good team. We learned from them how to win those games. The way they played, the way they kept winning games, you’ve got to learn from those teams and put that in your own game and do that the next time you’re in the playoffs. But getting in the playoffs is really hard and we did that. Playoffs are a different world and we got a lot of experience from that, lots of learning from that, so we’ll get some rest now and get back at it even stronger next year.”
DEFENSEMAN RADKO GUDAS
On how proud he is to be a part of the culture change this season:
“Very (proud). It was one of the reasons I wanted to join the team, from the GM to the coaches to the team. The message was clear that we wanted to have a winning attitude and winning culture. That’s what we wanted to do and we carried ourselves in the best way we could this year. I’m looking forward to doing that in a more regular season, and hopefully next year is going to be even better than this year. We want to continue to push for the winning attitude, and we want to win as many games as we can.”
On what he takes away from his first year with the Panthers:
“I think we grew as a team, from what I remember this team looked like from last year we had a lot of new guys. I think we did a great job of getting to know each other and getting the chemistry going right away. I think this whole team had a great year, we’re really sorry about the ending but I think there’s a lot of things that we can learn from. I think we started trending in the right directions of where we want to be as a playoff team.”
On what surprised him about this season:
“Barky (forward Aleksander Barkov) keeps surprising me every practice still. He’s in my opinion one of the best players, maybe the best player in the world. The way he plays in the defensive zone, he’s everywhere. Huby’s (forward Jonathan Huberdeau) just a one of a kind player. Players like this, they keep surprising me every practice. It’s fun to see and it’s good to have on the team, and have players like that being your best players and living up to their superstar standards. It’s what you want to have and what you want to follow as a player like me.”
FORWARD RYAN LOMBERG
On how proud he is of his performance this season:
“I think there was a bit of a slow start for me personally but the more time that I spent playing games and slowly built confidence I think individually I had a pretty strong finish. I’ll be looking forward to building off of that this summer and coming back more ready than I ever have been.”
On if he felt the playoff series versus Tampa Bay lived up to the hype:
“I think it surpassed my expectations. It was my first playoff series, I knew coming into it that playoff hockey was another type of hockey and it really was. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to but it was really cool.”
On if the Panthers earned respect as a contender this season:
“I think so, all year long we weren’t really too concerned with outside opinions. I think we proved it to ourselves especially, in that room that’s really all that matters. We know that we’re amongst the top teams. We don’t have the playoff results right now but there’s definitely a lot of confidence in that room moving forward.”
FORWARD OWEN TIPPETT
On the improvements he made throughout the year:
“Early on in the year it was getting comfortable but I think as I got comfortable and more confident my game started to take off. I know there’s another level so we’ll go from there.”
On what affected the progression of his season:
“I think it was just a mindset overall. Coming in early and throughout the year I realized what it took to play at this level every night. The guys were great, every one of them, with little pointers here and there that helped me implement little things into my game. The guys were great but overall I think it’s just a mindset.”
FORWARD MASON MARCHMENT
On what this season meant to him:
“It felt great. When I came in here I just tried to keep my head down and put in the work. Q (Head Coach Joel Quenneville) gave me a really good opportunity after I came in to play with those high-level players. I just tried to play my game and help their game. This year was definitely huge for me personally. It’s been a long journey to get to the NHL and I’m just happy that I’m here.”
On the opportunity he earned with the Panthers:
“Before I even came down here I heard Q (Head Coach Joel Quenneville) was a really good players coach and that he liked to play guys that are going or rolling right now. I just try to play as hard as I can and earn one of those spots. Lucky enough I got the opportunity to play with those guys and just keeping rolling through the playoffs. We had a couple good games there. Just play hard and do my best, that’s all there is.”
FORWARD JONATHAN HUBERDEAU
On the consistency the Panthers showed this season:
“That’s what a good team does. You can lose some games, it’s going to happen, but the way you come back to the next game I think this year the consistency was there. Every line’s going and every player is playing well. This year there was a lot of injuries and guys stepped up. That’s the character of our team. Next year’s going to be the same thing. We know what we can do and it’s all about confidence. We know we’re a hard-working team now and we’re competitive, and that’s what we’ve got to be next year.”
On how he felt this season went personally:
“Consistency has always been a big thing for me and I think this year was good. I think I proved to myself what I can do and the player I can be. I showed I can be physical as well, I didn’t really know myself that I could do that and I know I have a lot of things to look forward to this summer. Get better, and as you get older you’ve got to work even harder and come back next year, I want to be the same player but even better.”
On what a full season next year playing with Florida’s new players will do for the team:
“We came in this year with nine or 10 new guys, we changed the locker room but this year we all clicked. It didn’t feel weird when we showed up for training camp, everybody got along. I think Bill (General Manager Bill Zito) did a good job bringing in good people, not just good players but good people outside of hockey. We all got together and had good chemistry on and off the ice. Tampa’s been together for a long time but this year it didn’t feel like it was new. Looking forward to next year, and being with the guys at the end, we know each other and we know what we can bring to the table.”
GOALTENDER SPENCER KNIGHT
On what the last couple of months meant to him:
“It’s been a crazy last couple of months, kind of flew by. Only got in a few games and a few playoff games but it’s really helpful for me going into the offseason, just being able to recognize that I’ve started my professional career. I think it just gives me a sense of what it’s like around here and what it’s like to be a pro.
On what it takes to be a professional:
“A lot of the hockey stuff I already knew, it’s just hockey, but off the ice I have a great support system and trainers who prepared me in tremendous ways for this opportunity and they work with NHL players, so I guess I did have a little bit of a taste for it before.”
HEAD COACH JOEL QUENNEVILLE
On where he felt the team grew:
“I think we made significant progress with being hard to play against, being way more competitive game in and game out, way more consistent in that type of our game. We gave ourselves a chance to get points every single night, knowing that that was our standard of play. Knowing the expectations from the staff, by teammates, the accountability from the players went to a different level, which we appreciate. There was a lot of things that were put in place, whether it was Horny (forward Patric Hornqvist) coming in with his enthusiasm, each guy had a different kind of look to what he brought to our team. There was a lot of individual contributions that added up to being harder to play against and way more consistent in the work department.”
On what he is most proud of from the team this season:
“I think the pace of our game and the consistency that we played at. You can say we were hard to play against, our work ethic was good, but the pace and sustaining it from start to finish was probably a step in the right direction for sure.”
On the mentality going into next season:
“I think expectations are healthy. Creating a higher standard of expected play is where we’re at. I think that started to be in place going into the playoffs. The consistency that we were getting from lines, the rotation of four lines, the way we had the puck, the way we were attacking off the rush. That standard of starting from square one, is where we’re going to take off from. Easier said than done but that’s what we’re looking forward to. Off of that, pushing each other and whatever changed we can do to improve our team. Bill’s (General Manager Bill Zito) done a great job in a short amount of time. That’s what we’ll be looking at.”
