With defensemen Aaron Ekblad suspended and Dmitry Kulikov unavailable because of an upper-body injury, the Florida Panthers recalled Jaycob Megna from the American Hockey League on April 2, 2025. The Panthers made the move before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Tobias Bjornfot was sent to the Charlotte Checkers in the corresponding transaction.
Megna was expected to be in the lineup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Pembroke Pines, Florida, native recorded 16 points, including two goals and 14 assists, along with a plus-23 rating in 64 American Hockey League games with the Charlotte Checkers during the season. He joined the Florida Panthers as a free agent on a one-year, two-way contract in July.
Megna brings NHL experience
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound left-shot defenseman was originally selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the seventh round, 210th overall, of the 2012 NHL Draft. He has recorded 27 points, including four goals and 23 assists, in 185 career National Hockey League games. Those games came with the Chicago Blackhawks, Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks.
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said Megna made a strong impression during training camp. “He had a real good [training] camp,” Maurice said. “He’s a real big body. I think when he left our camp, we thought that we’d kind of like to take a look at him.”
Maurice said the Panthers wanted to evaluate their available defensive depth. “We’re into our seventh and eighth defenseman now — I guess ninth defenseman — and we want to have a good idea of what he looks like in our group,” Maurice said. “He’s had a good year [in the AHL], so we felt with the games left we wanted to take a look at some people in the minors to figure out how they would fit if we have to call on them in the playoffs.”
Megna last played in a National Hockey League game on April 18, 2024, with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Source: Original report