One of the newest members of the Florida Panthers has been helping provide some stability on the back line while the team’s oldest forward is pacing the group offensively.
Their contributions come at a time when the team has struggled to find stability amid a myriad of injuries to everyday players.
Considering the incredible career Brad Marchand has had, it’s probably less surprising to see him collecting points as rapidly as he has been than it has been to see the emergence of young defenseman Donovan Sebrango.
Florida claimed Sebrango off waivers from the Ottawa Senators earlier this season on the heels of losing Dmitry Kulikov to a labrum injury that will keep him out of the lineup for five months following surgery.
Sebrango arrived in South Florida with all of four NHL games of experience under his belt, but the 6-foot-2, 223-pound blueliner had a set of skills that caught the eye of the Cats’ front office.
He moves well and has a quick burst of speed that he can use to jump up into plays or quickly close a gap. He’s shown a keen sense of when to jump into plays and when to sit back, an indication that he’s quickly grasping the concepts of Florida’s five-man defensive systems.
On Monday, Sebrango’s fifth game since joining the Panthers, he picked up a pair of assists in Florida’s 3-2 victory in Las Vegas.
They were his first points in the NHL.
While the sample size remains small, it appears Florida may have found themselves another viable player that fits well in their physically-demanding systems.
“I think he's played the same game, and that's a really impressive thing because he's he doesn't have a lot of NHL experience,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “He's still a young man, but he has been very, very consistent in his style of game and what we expect from him, and that is highly unusual in a young player, especially a defenseman. There are so many different reads, and we play a different game than he's been experiencing, so we're really impressed with his composure in the game, and we like his bite.”
As for Marchand, the 37-year-old has been performing like he’s 10 years younger.
Regardless of what line he’s on or who he’s skating with, Marchand has been Florida’s most consistent point producer so far this season, but lately he’s taken things to another level.
After logging three goals and three assists over his first seven games, Marchand has exploded over his past eight outings.
He’s racked up eight goals and 12 points during his eight-game scoring streak, but it gets even better than that.
Marchand has scored goals in five straight games, with six total tallies over that span, some of which were highlight-worthy.
“It's almost more fun to watch the guys who haven't played here, who didn't see it in the playoffs, react to that,” Maurice said after Marchand scored a gorgeous backhand goal during Monday's win in Vegas. “He's special in tight, his hands are so quick. It would be the thing about Brad that…you know he's a good player when you coached against him for years, but you get on the ice in practice and you see those goals, it's just an exceptional set of hands.”
While an unlikely pair, both Marchand and Sebrango have done well lately bringing their unique brands of hockey to a Panthers team that was in need of steadiness and reliability.
How long they can keep it going remains to be seen.
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Photo caption: Nov 1, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) celebrates with defenseman Donovan Sebrango (6) after the game against the Dallas Stars at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)