As Florida gets ready for its first preseason game on September 22nd, I’m wrapping up my preview of the coaching staff. No staff is complete without a goaltending coach, video coach, or skills coach. These specialized coaches play an important role in the finer details of things. Training camp is well underway, and the Panthers start their path for title defense; there’s an excellent chance that they go back to back this year as Stanley Cup Champions, and no detail is too small to make a difference in game outcomes.
Robb Tallas:
Longtime goaltending coach Robb Tallas has been with the Panthers since the 2009-2010 season and has coached great goalie talents like Roberto Lunogo, Tomas Vokoun, and Sergei Bobrovsky. Like the majority of the coaching staff, he was a former player and played eight seasons of his 13-season professional career in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks; his other professional seasons were spent in the AHL, ECHL, and International Hockey League. In addition to coaching the Florida Panthers, he also coached for Italy during the 2019 IIHF World Championship. He founded the Robb Tallas Goalie Development School, where he runs camps at the Panthers IceDen.
Maxim Ivanov:
Ivanov joined the Panthers during the 2022-2023 season as the skills coach. Before that, he coached in the KHL for the Avangard Omsk as the skating coach and spent time as the power skating instructor for the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Ivanov also organized elite hockey camps in North America and Europe and is known as one of the best skating and skills coaches there is. In June, he added a third Stanley Cup to his resume with the Florida Panthers.
John Congemi:
The assistant video coach under Myles Fee, John Congemi, joined the Panthers during their 2021-2022 season, where they won the President’s Trophy but then lost in the first round of the playoffs. The video coaches played an important role this past season in providing Head Coach Paul Maurice with the information to make challenges at the right times, especially during the playoffs. HC Paul Maurice doesn’t challenge often, but when he does, the video team gets the calls right the majority of the time. HC Paul Maurice has spoken highly about how good the video team is for the Panthers.
Preseason is about to get underway, and now the Cats are entering this year as the defending Stanley Cup Champions. When I did my roster previews, I said that the defensemen are where the biggest question marks lay, and I still believe that losing Montour and OEL were pretty big losses for the Cats. However, Bill Zito has shown great knowledge in signing the correct players for the team to fill in gaps left by those who have departed, so I have great faith in whoever will fill those minutes. The majority of the forward core is back, and the franchise players are currently signed long-term. Carter Verhaeghe has already expressed his desire to stay with the Panthers after his contract is up this season. Zito told the media they intend to extend Ekblad, Bennett, and Verhaeghe. Between the returning players, new blood, and a strong coaching staff, the Panthers are in a great position to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.
