Florida Panthers Prospects: Schwindt gets hat trick

Cole Schwindt, one of the Florida Panthers top prospects, did not record a single point in the Charlotte Checkers first seven games of the season.

Schwindt, Florida’s third-round pick in 2019, has been on a tear since.

In his past seven games, Schwindt has eight points off six goals and now leads the Checkers in goals.

Three of those goals were a part of a natural hat trick to open a 4-0 win over the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on Saturday.

Schwindt is a key penalty killer for the Checkers and it showed on Saturday.

He registered his second shorthanded goal of the year by cleaning up a rebound in front of the net on a 2-on-1 rush to give Charlotte the 1-0 lead.

Schwindt is now tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals with two.

He is suddenly becoming a contender for a call-up in the event Florida needs an extra forward, showing progress in all areas of the game.

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Grigori Denisenko had the most points out of anyone in Charlotte, scoring a goal and three assists to total four points in the Checkers’ three-game road trip.

Olli Juolevi also played in Saturday’s game on a conditioning stint, recording a shot on goal and a minor penalty before being a healthy scratch on Sunday.

He returned to the Florida Panthers and was assigned to injured reserve on Monday.

The Checkers went 2-1-0 over the weekend, splitting a two-game set with the Penguins while beating the Hershey Bears 5-2 on Sunday.

Charlotte will head to Allentown to face off against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

This weekend, they will face off against the Utica Comets on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Hershey Bears at 5 p.m.

North of the border, Braden Hache recorded his first OHL goal in a 5-4 shootout win over the Mississauga Steelheads.

The Kingston defenseman was drafted by the Panthers in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Evan Nause, a third-round pick in 2021, also had a big week as he recorded two assists. Both came in a 6-1 Quebec Remparts win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

He has a goal and seven assists for eight points in 13 games.

Quinnipiac’s Ty Smilanic had the best performance out of Florida’s college prospects, scoring two goals in two games – scoring both of them in a 5-2 win over Arizona State.

The forward currently has five goals and three assists for eight points in 12 games.