MacPherson headed to Florida Panthers training camp

SOUTHERN ALBERTA NEWS PHOTO BY RYAN MCCRACKEN

By Justin Seward
Commentator/Courier

Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Dylan MacPherson will get his first taste of a professional hockey later this month after earning an invite to the Florida Panthers development camp.
“It’s kind of a first step of a dream come true getting an invite to the next level,” he said.
“So just excited to go and grateful for the opportunity.”
The Redcliff native was contacted by the Panthers through the agencies and was asked if he was invited to any other camps and if he would attend their camp in the event he did not get drafted.
“It’s getting towards the end of the junior career coming up so it was nice to get a shot at the next level,” said the smooth skating rearguard.
It has been more a rehab process lately for MacPherson after he was knocked out of the first game of the postseason against the Brandon Wheat Kings on March 23 due to a bad hit.
“The journey started off pretty slow,” he said.
“Slow going, slow movement, very little mobility. But now it’s close to 100 per cent, so towards the end of rehab. I’ve been back on the ice for about two weeks now trying to focus on not favouring it or cheating on any of my strides or turns.”
With development camp around the corner, he said he is not in a hurry to get his skating back to full form yet a tab bit quicker then he would for the WHL.
“You’ve got to move faster going down to Florida because all those guys are going to be ready to go,” he said.
“Some of them had long seasons, some of them are skating everyday.”