By Toby Rice
While the Florida Panthers have seemed to cool off around the 20 game mark, the Rochester Americans are poised to challenge for the Calder Cup. In 22 games, the Americans are 11-8-3 and sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. While they trail the conference lead by 8 points, several of the organization's top prospects are performing well. They are expecting to continue to gel and challenge for the American Hockey League's top prize.
Leading the way is seasoned centerman Michael McLeod. His 9 goals and 19 assists are good for 28 points and he is on pace to have another record year.
"It's promising," says the Panthers' GM. "We don't guarantee spots in the lineup, but we've had conversations with Mike. He knows he's playing for a top six role next season in the big league. We've talked about his progression. He knows there's competition at center, but so far he has taken the reins and it is exciting to see him compete."
McLeod will be in a battle for possibly only one top six spot on next year's Panthers team. So how is his "competition" doing in Rochester? Connor McMichael, playing in just his second season, has 20 points. Other centers O'Brien and Stutzle have 18 points. Morgan Frost is right behind them with 17.
McLeod is well ahead of the pack at this point in the season. His 28 points are 7 in front of Matias Maccelli who has 21. If McLeod keeps this pace, he may just ink his name in a Florida Panthers top six role for next season before this one even ends.
6/19/2021 - 269 words
