Mark Fitzpatrick was one of the first Panthers goalies, coming to the team in the expansion draft. He appeared in two playoff games in 1996, serving as the backup to John Vanbiesbrouck.

Over 10,000 Panthers fans visited the Broward County Convention Center to enjoy Hockeyfest 1997. The event featured broomball rinks, souvenir booths, a museum of hockey memorabilia and meet & greets with every Panthers player. The line to meet John Vanbiesbrouck took hours, but perhaps the biggest star in attendance was Stanley C. Panther.

Fans could re-live John Vanbiesbrouck’s 12 wins and 685 saves in the 1996 playoffs with this collectible figurine.

Goalie skates are a little different from standard ice hockey skates. Note that the surface of the skate is reinforced with a “cowling” — that’s the white, plastic-like covering — to prevent damage from 100+ mph slapshots. You can see that some of the 1,638 shots John Vanbiesbrouck faced in the 1997-1998 season left black […]

Panthers great John Vanbiesbrouck was featured on various hockey memorabilia, including decorative pucks. He is second on the franchise’s all-time list for wins (106).

With the final home game at Miami Arena at the end of the 1997-1998 season, six players from the inaugural season still remained Panthers. Those players helped shape the budding franchise, contributing a Rat Trick, several All-Star Game appearances and a memorable run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

Robert Svehla was known throughout his career for shying away from media attention. So how did the defenseman react to the spotlight of his first-ever All-Star Game? “I think Robert’s enjoying this,” said teammate and fellow All-Star John Vanbiesbrouck. Head coach Doug MacLean agreed, noting with a laugh that he saw Svehla “smile a couple […]

John Vanbiesbrouck was elected starting goaltender for the Eastern Conference at the 1997 NHL All-Star Game. Later that year, he earned his 300th win as a goalie with a 6-2 defeat of the New York Islanders on December 27, 1997. At the time, Vanbiesbrouck was only the fifteenth player and second American to accomplish the […]

There’s lots of reasons why John Vanbiesbrouck will never forget the 1997 All-Star Weekend — ultimately his final All-Star appearance. Beezer started the game for the East, who crushed the West, 11-7. He didn’t save it all for the game, though. The Cat also shined in the skills competitions, stopping all 10 shots he faced […]

Do you remember the first Panthers goalie to rock this helmet? US Hockey Hall of Famer John Vanbiesbrouck used a design similar to this one for years. The giant panther on top of his head let everyone know what the new team was all about.