What Is in a Name

Just when you want to break up with the Panthers altogether, the team goes out and picks a player with a Dickensian name like Keaton Ellerby, who, with such a moniker, could be partner at a London law firm or Prime Minister of New Zealand or a hip-hop producer. (To boot, he played on a Canadian junior team called the Kamloops Blazers.) Kid’s got a 95 mph slapshot, and, according to one scouting publication, “As a 17-year-old, Ellerby established himself as an efficient and reliable pugilist.”

You never know whether or when draftees – even 10th overall picks – will make the roster. That’s as good a reason as any to keep an eye on the penultimate exhibition game of the preseason against the Atlanta Thrashers (who looked fine last season until the Rangers swept them out of the first round of the playoffs). The return to hockey is abrupt, coming so soon after football resumed, but considering how much the Dolphins of this year resemble the Dolphins of last, a little diversion may be in order. Drop the puck at 7:30 on Wednesday at the BankAtlantic Center (One Panthers Pkwy., Sunrise). Tickets start at $17 and escalate to unruly. Call 954-523-3309, or visit www.floridapanthers.com.
Wed., Sept. 26, 2007