"Panthers director of scouting Scott Luce has logged thousands of miles over the last year in search of prospects who could help transform the struggling franchise into a winner.

While the Stanley Cup finals ended Wednesday night, Luce's time to shine comes this Friday and Saturday at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Minneapolis.

"I'm a little worn down, but anxious to get to the big dance and have some success,'' Luce said. "It's a very deep draft that may lack star power, but has a lot of potential quality NHL players.''"