When the expansion Seattle Kraken selects its first group of players in the upcoming National Hockey League expansion draft, 11 members of the Florida Panthers know they are safe from heading across the country and playing for a new team.
The NHL released Sunday the list of players both available and protected ahead of Wednesday's draft.
Players protected by Florida include:
- Forwards Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair, Patric Hornqvist, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mason Marchment and Carter Verhaeghe
- Defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and MacKenzie Weegar
- Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky
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Duclair and Forsling recently signed three-year contract extensions with the Panthers while Ekblad saw his 2021 season end early after suffering a fractured left leg in March.
Players available to be selected include:
- Forwards Noel Acciari, Patrick Bajkov, Juho Lammikko, Ryan Lomberg, Brad Morrison, Aleksi Saarela, Frank Vatrano, Lucas Wallmark, Alex Wennberg and Scott Wilson (F)
- Defensemen Lucas Carlsson, Kevin Connauton, Tommy Cross, Radko Gudas, Noah Juulsen, Brady Keeper, Brandon Montour, Markus Nutivaara, Ethan Prow and Anton Stralman
- Goaltenders Philippe Desrosiers, Chris Driedger and Sam Montembeault
Seattle will select 30 players, one from each NHL team except the Vegas Golden Knights, during Wednesday's event.
