The Florida Panthers have released their first Prospect Report of 2026, highlighting the progress and achievements of players within their development system.
Sandis Vilmanis, a forward in his second professional season, has shown significant improvement. Drafted in the fifth round in 2022 (157th overall), Vilmanis is tied for first in points (19), tied for second in assists (11), and tied for third in goals (8) among his peers. He has recorded four multi-point games this season. Next month, Vilmanis will represent the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 alongside Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis.
Another prospect, Mads Kongsbak Klyvø, was noted for his international performance. Selected by the Panthers in the fourth round of the 2025 draft (112th overall), Klyvø served as an alternate captain for Denmark during the U20 IIHF World Junior Championship. He tied for the team lead with three goals and registered three points (two goals and one assist) against Germany despite an 8-4 loss.
The report also provided updated statistics on prospects across various leagues:
In North America’s AHL/ECHL circuit, Marek Alscher has played 24 games with eight points; Cooper Black posted a .907 save percentage over 20 games; Mike Benning tallied 13 points through 31 games; Jack Devine notched 18 points in 25 appearances; Wilmer Skoog leads with eleven goals and nineteen points from thirty-one matches; Gracyn Sawchyn also stands out with nineteen points over twenty-nine games.
In Canadian junior hockey (CHL), Shea Busch scored thirteen goals and eighteen points in twelve games while Shamar Moses collected thirteen points over thirty-three contests.
NCAA highlights include Vladislav Lukashevich recording sixteen points as a defenseman at Miami University and Tyler Muszelik posting a .935 save percentage with a goals-against average of 1.98 at the University of Connecticut.
Among European-based prospects, Arvid Drott contributed seventeen points over sixteen outings for Djurgårdens IF U20, while Stepan Zvyagin registered twenty-nine points through thirty-six games with Dinamo-Molodechno.
The organization stated: “Stay tuned for updates on players in the pipeline throughout the season.”
Vilmanis’ upcoming participation at Milano Cortina reflects ongoing development opportunities available to Panthers prospects on both domestic and international stages.