"Ones to Watch in the East" from nhl.com

Read this on nhl.com today. What do you guys that have seen him during the pre-season believe?

http://www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/preview03/onestowatch_east100203.html

"Florida Panthers, Mikael Samuelsson -- Discovered you can be traded at any time in the NHL. Originally drafted by San Jose in 1998, he was traded to the New York Rangers for Adam Graves in June, 2001 and had six goals and 10 assists in 67 games for New York in 2001-02. Last season was split between the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, who acquired him in the Alexei Kovalev deal. He had eight goals and 14 assists with the Rangers in 58 games, but just two goals in 22 games with the Penguins, who included him in the package that went to Florida for the top selection in the 2003 Entry Draft, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

He has good size and skill and should benefit from staying in one place for a while. The Panthers will ice one of the League's youngest lineups, so a young veteran like Samuelsson can play a very positive role in the development of the younger players. And based on his previous experience, he has the chance to be more productive."

All I can tell you is he looked very good in camp. He's pretty fast and was working hard in both ends. I wasn't looking for him but he DID catch my eye. The effort was clearly there. The degree of contribution he'll make has yet to be determined.

All I can tell you is he looked very good in camp. He's pretty fast and was working hard in both ends. I wasn't looking for him but he DID catch my eye. The effort was clearly there. The degree of contribution he'll make has yet to be determined.

I was impressed by him at camp as well. He is a good guy to kill penalties and be used to help shut down the other team's best forwards. He has good skill and plays smart. Dudley told me he could play all 3 forward positions well if needed.