The Panthers have signed center prospect Gracyn Sawchyn to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Florida selected Sawchyn, 19, late in the second round of the 2023 draft (63rd overall). His exclusive signing rights were set to expire on June 1, 2025.
Sawchyn, an Alberta-born pivot, will remain with his junior club, the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings, for the rest of the 2024-25 season. The lanky 6’0″ forward has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 12 games this season, leading them in scoring while also leading them in PIMs (24) and tying for the team lead with a +5 rating.
The Panthers drafted Sawchyn from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who traded him to the Oil Kings early last season. But in Seattle, Sawchyn had 58 points in 58 games in his draft year to help spark the Thunderbirds to a WHL championship. However, he was held without a point in five Memorial Cup games.
In their draft-year scouting report of Sawchyn, Elite Prospects called his game “not a complex one.” McKeen’s Hockey ranked Sawchyn as the No. 4 prospect in the Panthers’ system in their 2024-25 NHL Yearbook, calling out his “intriguing blend of skill and tenacity” while criticizing his still sometimes inconsistent production at the WHL level. In the early going this season, he’s quieted those concerns. After improving his output to 1.19 points per game last season from his point-per-game draft year, he’s clicking at 1.67 points per game in 2024-25.
Since Sawchyn is signing his entry-level contract at age 19 and doesn’t turn 20 until after January 1, his ELC is eligible to slide once. He won’t play 10 NHL games this season, so his deal will go into effect for the 2025-26 campaign. He’ll become a restricted free agent upon expiry in the 2028 offseason.
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