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Panthers At a Glance Head coach: Mike Keenan Record: 22-44-10-6 2001-02: Results 2001-02: Player Stats 2002-03: Schedule 2002-03: Roster 2002: Draft picks

By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com

Patience has never been Mike Keenan's defining characteristic, but he appears committed to a rebuilding process in South Florida. Armed with a contract extension through the 2007-08 season, Keenan is ready to build a team the slow way for the first time in a career built on quick turnarounds.

The playoffs are most likely a few years away, but if the Panthers' young talent jells quickly, nothing is out of the question in the Southeast Division. Florida has young talent at every position and is especially blessed with an abundance of European forwards. Keeping Valeri Bure and Viktor Kozlov healthy would be a good place to start.

"As is the case with many teams, the stars have to align," Panthers general manager Rick Dudley said. "Montreal wasn't expected to be a playoff team last year, but a number of their moves worked out perfectly. Unless you are one of the teams that are perennial playoff participants, then most of the stars have to align to make the playoffs. Everyone has to put in an entire season of hard work from Day One. The players have to expect to win every night, but that's the beauty of having a veteran coach who is used to winning."

As is typical with a Keenan-coached team, the offseason focus was to acquire character players who fit into his system. Stephane Matteau joined Keenan for a fourth tour of duty and will provide leadership in the locker room and toughness on the lower lines. Robert Svehla didn't want to play for Keenan anymore, and after a brief "retirement" was dealt to Toronto for Dmitry Yushkevich, who had worn out his welcome with the Leafs. Tough two-way center Jason Wiemer was dealt to the Islanders for defense prospect Branislav Mezei. The only other significant offseason move was the release of backup goalie Trevor Kidd and his $2.3 million salary.

Kristian Huselius, RW -- While many European players take time to adjust to the North American style, Kristian Huselius made his mark as a rookie with 23 goals and 22 assists and a third-place finish in Calder Trophy voting.

The sweet-shooting Swede scored 16 goals in the first 37 games, then faded badly with just seven in the last 42. Huselius had 32 goals and 35 assists in 49 games with Vastra Frolunda HC Goteborg in the Swedish first division in 2000-01, so the adjustment to the longer NHL schedule wore him down.

Huselius showed excellent stickhandling, good hands and nimble skating, making him likely to be a fixture on the Panthers' top line for years to come. Kozlov had a team-record 53 assists three years ago, but has been injury prone ever since. If Kozlov can stay healthy and return to his 1999-2000 form, he and Huselius could be a dangerous scoring threat on Florida's first unit.

Youth and inexperience -- The Panthers might save some money on razors this year.

Only Wade Flaherty (34), Matteau (33), Igor Ulanov (31), Paul Laus (31), Yushkevich (30) and Sandis Ozolinsh (30) are on the plus side of 30.

By contrast, Pierre Dagenais (24), Marcus Nilson (24), Lance Ward (24), Joey Tetarenko (24), Roberto Luongo (23), Huselius (23), Ivan Novoseltsev (23), Olli Jokinen (23), Brad Ference (23), Niklas Hagman (22), Denis Shvidki (21), Mezei (21), Filip Novak (20), Stephen Weiss (19) and Jay Bouwmeester (18) are all projected regulars.

"We're not loaded with leaders and experience," Dudley said. "A lot of our players are going to be kids, which is OK. What I like the most about it is that Mike relishes that. His reputation is of a guy who likes veteran teams, but he's having fun developing these kids, so from a GM standpoint it's extremely encouraging. He views it as a good challenge."

Can Luongo take the next step like Jose Theodore did last year?

The comparisons are inevitable for the two top young goaltenders from Quebec. Theodore had a breakout year in 2001-02, winning the Vezina and Hart trophies by carrying the Canadiens into the playoffs. Luongo has yet to post big numbers, but many people think a huge season is just around the corner.

"Goaltending is a strength," Dudley said. "For Roberto, it's not a matter of whether he'll be one of the top two or three goalies in the league, it's a matter of when. He had a .915 save percentage last season on a team that was shaky defensively."

Luongo is 2 1/2 years younger than Theodore, but their career stats are similar when compared at the same stage. In Theodore's second year as a regular starter (2000-01), he went 20-29-5 with a 2.57 GAA and a .909 save pct. In Luongo's second year with more than 30 starts (2001-02), he was 16-33-4 with a 2.69 GAA and a .915 save pct. Theodore then had his breakout season (30-24-10, 1.97 GAA and .931 save pct.) in his third campaign as a regular.

Luongo and Theodore will be compared and contrasted for many years to come -- righty vs. lefty; city of Montreal native vs. suburban Montreal native; American transplant vs. Francophone hometown hero. If they continue to progress as expected, Theodore and Luongo could be the next great goalie rivalry for many years.

Jay Bouwmeester, C, 6'4", 210 pounds
Born: Sept. 27, 1983
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta
Acquired: No. 1 overall pick in 2002 NHL Entry Draft

Bouwmeester has felt pressure to excel for several years already. Selected first overall in the 1998 WHL Bantam Draft, Bouwmeester was targeted as a top prospect for the 2002 NHL Entry Draft for several years. At 16 years, 3 months, he became the youngest Canadian to participate in the World Junior Championships, joining Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros and Jason Spezza as the only 16-year-olds to play for Canada in the tourney.

"His skating is just mind-boggling," Dudley said. "Even when he skates backwards, it's so easy for him to angle somebody. He's quite a specimen. His feet rarely touch the ice and he doesn't make any noise when he skates. He just seems to float over the ice. That's why you like to think he's capable of playing in the NHL this season. Young defensemen are usually overwhelmed by how fast everything happens, but I don't think it's going to overwhelm Jay, not with those feet."

At the Canadian World Junior Championships camp in Halifax in late August, Bouwmeester won the fastest lap competition, scored a goal and went plus-3 in four games. Bouwmeester also won the fastest skater contest at Top Prospects Skills Competition in January. No matter the level of competition, Bouwmeester continues to showcase his incredible skating and solid puck-moving skills.

Bouwmeester's style of play has been compared to Scott Niedermayer, Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Pronger, while his skating is most often stacked up against Paul Coffey's. Playing for Medicine Hat in the WHL the past three seasons, Bouwmeester scored 34, 53 and 60 points, netting 11 goals and 49 assists in 61 games in his final WHL season.