Poor Little Lamb

One of the unfortunate - but duly warned - victims of the Florida Panthers' Rent-a-Puck Bunny campaign. Jimmy thought he slipped a fast one past the Cats' "Internal Security" when one of his hands wasn't in plain view of the camera during a photo shoot with an Ice Dancer during Fred Dorfman night at the Coral Springs Rotary Club recently. As policy clearly stated in the legally-binding waiver, Jimmy was offered to a food- and sleep-deprived Stanley C. Panther, following the stinging loss to Minnesota. Our condolences.

Thanks, Puck Daddy.

Florida Wins...

...my vote for best move of the month, by hooking up with a YouTube Channel. And it's pretty freaking entertaining.

I'm late to the punch on this news, so head over there and check out some cool videos. Some of the Stanley C. stuff is great.

Decisions, Decisions...

Florida Panthers mascot Stanley C. ponders the ramifications and potentially violent reactions of his fanbase while mulling over whether to vote for or against the proposal for a same-sex marriage ban in his home state. He declined comment when approached by exit-pollers.

See? We ARE Getting a Third Jersey

With obvious inspiration from the "I threw my ASE-Certified auto mechanic jumpsuit into the washer with too much bleach" craze, Stanley C. Panther shows off Florida's newest duds.

Training Camp Day One: First (poor) Pictures

I was expecting a bit more, um, performance out of my Razr cameraphone, but I digress. LOTS of good shots from a much better platform are on their way.

A wonderful day had by all. Many thanks to the Florida Panthers organization for a fantastic event. Happy faces all around.

What was later estimated to be over 1,000 - in a facility built for FAR less - crowded into standing-room-only areas at IncredibleICE (you've already got the link, kids) to see Day One of the Peter DeBoer Era begin. Upon his arrival, a thunderous applause rang out. No, really.

Got a whole bunch to do - I just arrived at The Litter Box World Headquarters in breezy North Palm Beach - so I'll simply release the lousy teaser pictures from my phone. The good stuff will be here tomorrow after the standard vetting process is undertaken by loyal TLB staffers. BTW, staffers: no overtime. Yeah, again.

Squint hard folks...no HD here.

Guys ready for the pass during practice.

Hey look! That's Nathan Horton in the red! I promise.

Stanley C. just before he shut off my phone. Forcibly. Apparently he's not a fan of speaking without Teleprompters. Hmmm.

Zeds is back! And yes, his speed is there as well.

More guys looking for work.

This guy's not looking for work. Tomas Vo-something was his name...

No support here. Off to Hamilton.

PeDe lays it down during Day One.


Much more to follow tomorrow, including commentary and (really good) pictures.

As for TLB's pick for Panther-of-the-Day-Camp-Edition (excluding veterans), hands-down today's winner is a no-brainer...ask anyone in attendance: Kenndal McArdle. Bar-none, the hardest worker - among VERY hard workers, just ask Horton while he was doubled-over on the far end - was the Panthers' 20th pick in '05. BAR. NONE. Nice freaking job, KM. Most impressive.

Again, lots more to sort out come tomorrow. While the TLB newshole rapidly condenses stories from around the globe regarding today's event, we'd like to send a special hello to Phillip(sp?) and Stephanie from South Miami. Loyal members of TeamLitterBox and a pleasure to talk - intelligent - puck with. Totally agree with their comments on Anthony Stewart.

Tune in tomorrow...Same Cat time, same Cat station.

Tuesday Primer: Count Duco, Polls, and Creepy Short Things

People have gone to prison for less sexually ambiguous photos than this.

On to the morning's features from around the globe:

• Panthers prospect (and former Peter DeBoer underling) Mike Duco is profiled in this nice article from the Record: "DeBoer coached Duco for five seasons in Kitchener.
  'I know what Mike's capable of,'"

• On Frozen Pond offers the continuation of a poll asking who are the most popular Panthers of the past 15 years, otherwise known as all-time. Established a few weeks back, now with a couple of additions and subtractions; A typical suspect leads the voting. My campaign to add Brani Mezei went ignored.

• Does King Louie need a bodyguard? Former Cat Darcy Hordichuk thinks so. "Just like new Canucks centre Ryan Johnson, who also played with Luongo on the Panthers, Hordichuk knows the value of Luongo who often found himself in a Florida shooting gallery."

• Up in Rochester, surroundings are getting cozy for the Amerks at The BCA. You want how many clubs in there? "The biggest plus is that the competition for support will encourage the four teams to provide the best possible product." Uh huh. Just ask the Miami market about that.

• At least that's over. Florida's kids finished up the Kitchener rookie tournament - you remember, the one they hosted - with a 4-0 shutout loss to the Baby Leafs. Let's forget the whole thing. Now.

Oh...THOSE Florida Panthers

The image on the left is a Florida panther. The opposite image is a Florida Panther. In case there was any confusion, I'm not the only Panthers Litter Box on the interwebs.

Kudos to Sugar for the show of love to the feline that led to a generation of playoff-less hockey.

You're always welcome here, Sugar!