Buckeye Zac Dalpe Could Earn Stanley Cup Playoffs Experience with Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers center and former Ohio State Buckeye Zac Dalpe could earn his first taste of National Hockey League (NHL) postseason action during the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Panthers recalled Dalpe from the American Hockey League (AHL) after center Sam Bennett, who had played 63 games with the club, was added to the team's injured reserve list with a groin injury.
Bennett accompanied the Panthers to Boston for the opening games of the 2023 Eastern Conference Playoff, but it has yet to be determined what his role will be during these first games of the postseason.
Should Bennett remain unavailable, Dalpe is one of a couple of players who could get a share of his usual minutes on the ice.
Dalpe played just 14 games in the bigs this season, spending most of the year with the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Panthers. The Paris, Ontario native has 35 points with 21 goals and 14 assists over 47 games with the Checkers during the 2022-23 campaign.
Over his career, Dalpe has played 168 games at the NHL level with a variety of organizations, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, and Columbus Blue Jackets.
The longest amount of time Dalpe has spent in a single season at the major-league level came in 2013-14 during his lone year with the Vancouver Canucks.
Dalpe was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames, prior to beginning his time with Ohio State later that year. The 194-pound center spent 76 games with the Buckeyes over two seasons from 2008-2010, scoring 70 points off of 34 goals and 36 assists.
Dalpe and the Panthers will need to get the better of the Bruins in a best-of-seven series if they want to continue their journey in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This task won't be easy however, as Boston finished the regular season not only with the most points in franchise history (135) but also the most wins in the NHL's 106 years of existence with 64.
Game two of the 2023 NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. eastern on ESPN.
Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!
Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
You can follow Caleb Spinner on Twitter: @CalebSpinner
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Follow BuckeyesNow on Instagram: @BuckeyesNow_FN