Cats & Coffee: Matheson wins gold, Who’s ready for summer camp?

Good morning and welcome to “Cats & Coffee,” a weekly segment in which we get you caffeinated with an exciting look at the week ahead for the Florida Panthers. The 2016 IIHF Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship came to an exciting conclusion over the weekend, and none of the Florida Panthers players that participated in the annual tournament are coming home empty handed. In his first career World Championship appearance, Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson earned a Gold Medal in Team Canada’s 2-0 victory over Team Finland on Sunday at Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday. After starting out as one of the more inexperienced players on Canada’s star-studded roster, the 22-year-old Matheson quickly proved to be one of the most offensively gifted defensemen at the tournament, recording six points (2-4-6) and a plus-11 rating in 10 games. A first-round draft pick (23rd overall) of the Panthers in the 2012 NHL Draft, Matheson made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season, competing in three regular season games and five playoff games to kick off his promising career in South Florida.

On top of the world!!! #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/ZEJoQ1BBXk

— Mike Matheson (@MMatheson7) May 22, 2016 In defeat, Panthers forwards Aleksander Barkov and Jussi Jokinen earned a pair of Silver Medals after helping lead Finland to a nearly flawless 9-1 record, with both players finishing among the top-20 scorers at the tournament. …

continue reading in source panthers.nhl.com