Florida Panthers Draft Lawson Crouse

     The 2015 NHL Draft was held at BB&T Center this weekend and the Florida Panthers selected left wing Lawson Crouse in the first round with the 11th overall pick. Crouse, who was projected to be a top-six selection, slipped down for the Panthers to take. The Florida Panthers and the city of Sunrise had previously hosted the National Hockey League Draft back in 2001.
     Crouse played junior hockey for the past two seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. He had 29 goals, 22 assists, 51 points and 70 penalty minutes in 56 games during the 2014-15 regular season. Crouse had improved his scoring numbers from 2013-14 when he had 15 goals, 12 assists, 27 points and 64 penalty minutes in 63 games.
     He had represented Canada in several international competitions. He helped them win the IIHF Under-20 World Junior Championship in 2015 and the Ivan Hlinka Under-18 Tournament in 2014. His team finished third in the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in 2014.
     The Panthers had no selections during the second round and had to wait until the third round to gain two more prospects. They chose Blainville-Boisbriand Armada goalie Samuel Montembeault as the 77th overall pick and Owen Sound Attack defenseman Thomas Schmetsch as the 88th overall pick.
     Florida finished off the NHL Draft picking Zurich center Denis Malgin in the fourth round, Culver Military Academy left wing Karch Bachman in the fifth round and Tri-City Storm right wing Christopher Wilkie in the sixth round. The Cats had two selections in the seventh round with Kimball Union Academy center Patrick Shea and Johnstown Tomahawks goalie Ryan Bednard.