Matheson Confident Heading Into Rookie Season with Panthers

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — It’s picture day at the Florida Panthers Ultimate Hockey School at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, and every boy and girl in attendance is hoping to get a spot close to “Coach Mike.” A special guest instructor at the weeklong summer camp, Panthers rookie defenseman Mike Matheson is sitting happily at center ice, surrounded by a giddy group aspiring young hockey players, all of them grinning ear to ear as they wait for the camera’s flash to go off. It’s a heartwarming moment, one that speaks not only to the promising growth of hockey in South Florida, but also to Matheson’s own personal growth from a prospect into a professional over the course of last season. “It’s really cool to see how excited they all are to play hockey,” Matheson said of his students, who are between the ages of seven and 17. “It shows that hockey is getting bigger down here. You can tell by all the excitement that these kids have down here playing hockey at a camp in August. They love every minute of it. “I want this camp to be something that they remember. I want it to be something that pushes them to continue playing hockey through the rest of their lives. If they enjoy it, that will allow them to be passionate about it. The more kids that do that, the more popular hockey will become.” With NHL training camps set to begin next month, Matheson admits that his own excitement might actually rival that of his students. In less than a year, the 22-year-old rearguard has quickly gone from a player on the rise to one that could be playing a prominent role on Florida’s blue line during the upcoming season. “On my flight down here, knowing that soon I’d be on a flight down for training camp, …

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