Maine Hockey Journal

Panthers recall McFarland from Portland; Knight assigned to Pirates

The Florida Panthers made a pair of roster transaction Friday, recalling forward John McFarland from the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates while reassigning forward Corban Knight to Portland.

The Pirates are set to begin a seven-game road trip Friday evening in Allentown, PA against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight. In addition to Lehigh Valley, the 12-day trip will see the Pirates travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Utica, Rochester, Toronto and Hartford before returning to the Cross Insurance Arena later this month.

McFarland, who is in his fourth professional season, is getting his first NHL recall by the Panthers. McFarland, 6-foot-1, 205-pound left wing, has played 43 games for Portland this season, scoring 14 goals and eight assists for 22 points, playing mostly on the top line with Rob Schremp.

He will be eligible to make his NHL debut for the Panthers tonight when Florida hosts the St. Louis Blues at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Knight, 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, missed the first 20 games of the regular season after suffering a back injury in an exhibition game against the University of New Brunswick. He returned to appear in three games, scoring a goal and an assist in his debut.

The High River, Alberta native was recalled by the Panthers on Dec. 14 from Portland, playing 20 games in the NHL where he tallied two goals and five assists for seven points. Knight will be available to play for the Pirates tonight at the PPL Center against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In an unrelated move, the Pirates have reassigned forward Steven Hodges to Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL.

Hodges, 21, has not appeared in a game this season for Portland due to his recovery from off-season surgery. He split playing time last season between the Panthers’ former AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage and former ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones. Hodges played 23 games for the Rampage where he scored a goal and an assist. In 28 games for the Cyclones, he scored eight goals, seven assists for 15 points.

Hodges, a native of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, played three seasons for the Victoria Royals and parts of two seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL, scoring 157 points (75G, 82A) in 247 games. Hodges was named to the 2012-13 WHL All-Star Team and was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round (#84 overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Hodges will be eligible to suit up for the Monarchs for their next game, which is this Sunday at Verizon Wireless Arena against the Wheeling Nailers.

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