Panthers coach Kevin Dineen called the team together and told them that rookie defenseman Erik Gudbranson had officially made the team.
There would be no return to juniors – at least for the forseeable future as all the players cheered and surrounded the 19-year-old with high-fives and hearty congratulations.
In the stands, Gudbranson’s father Wayne broke down and couldn’t even speak to reporters because he was overcome with emotion when witnessing the on-ice celebration. It’s also special because Gudbranson grew up nearby and skated on this ice as a 5-year-old Pee-wee player when he was rooting for the Sens. His whole family will be in the stands tonight, except for brother Alex, who plays for his old junior team the Kingston Frontenacs.
Here's the video.
And I’d like to point out that I can’t even see José at the beginning of the video. Wherever he is, it’s far enough away that he was out of sight. Yet he came all the way over to congratulate Erik. And lots of guys that were right there didn’t. That’s not a criticism of anyone else, just showing the type of guy José is. An extremely supportive teammate.
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