Paul Maurice with incredible advice to young prospect making NHL debut tonight with Florida Panthers

Maurice's message, as relayed pregame, is simple and pretty rare in pro sports, you only get one first game. You can pile up awards later, but you never get that first lap again.

Vilmanis has earned it the slow way, with 19 points in 31 games for AHL Charlotte, including eight goals. Florida drafted him in 2022, 157th overall, and the winger turns 22 later this month.

You can almost hear Panthers fans hoping the kid breathes once and smiles, even if his hands shake on the first touch. There's something pure about a debut, especially on the road.

The hockey side is still business, win a wall puck, get it behind Ottawa's defense, and keep your line changes clean. If Vilmanis stays on the right side of the puck, the bench trust will come fast.

Tonight's matchup matters, too, because Florida's special teams gap is real on paper. The Panthers sit at 17.5% on the power play and 83.0% on the penalty kill, while Ottawa's power play runs 23.6%.

That's why Maurice leaning on Bobrovsky makes sense, he can calm the game when the debut adrenaline spikes. It also explains why the «enjoy it» speech matters, because nerves can turn one shift into two bad minutes.

The best version of Vilmanis tonight is not a hero, it's a steady teammate who keeps pace with Florida's forecheck and doesn't drift high in the slot. If he does that, he'll remember Saturday forever, in the best way.

For the Panthers, it's a reminder that depth stories still show up in January, and sometimes they carry a season for a night.

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