An under-the-radar player is making his case to make the Florida Panthers’ roster

The opportunity is there for Patrick Giles to make the Florida Panthers’ Opening Night roster.

And with a little more than a week left in the preseason before things begin for real on Oct. 8 when Florida hosts the Boston Bruins to begin their Stanley Cup title defense, Giles is doing everything right to make his case.

The 24-year-old forward, who just two years ago turned a tryout opportunity with the AHL Charlotte Checkers after going undrafted out of Boston College into an entry-level contract, has flashed his combination of size (6-4, 217 pounds), speed and hands throughout practice and in games. Couple that with an injury to Tomas Nosek, who was slated to be Florida’s fourth-line center but is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, and Giles has worked his way into consideration for making the Panthers’ roster and, with that, his eventual NHL debut.

“I’m just trying to play my best hockey,” Giles said. “I think, for me, that’s just being hard on the puck, skating fast, being good on the forecheck. It’s stuff that I’ve worked a lot on in Charlotte and that’s prepared me for this camp and this season so I’m just trying to hone in on that stuff.”

Through four preseason games, Giles has six points (two goals, four assists). This is coming after a season with the Checkers in which he produced 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) over 66 games.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice isn’t looking too much into the statistics, though. That’s far from the end-all, be-all for the veteran coach when determining roster spots.

But Maurice likes what he has seen from Giles, who would most likely be centering AJ Greer and Jonah Gadjovich on the fourth line should he break camp with the team.

“He has had a good camp and he his statistics are not as important as the improvement he has had year-over-year,” Maurice said. “The guy comes in, and he is considerably faster than he was last year. He has good hands around the net for a big guy. He is making a case for himself. He has done what he needs to do in this camp and has moved himself up the depth chart.”

Added Giles: “The points are nice, but I think just doing the little things goes a long away, especially in camp,” Giles said. “Kind of showing what you can do to help the team all over the ice. .... I’m just trying to stick with doing the little things and hopefully the stats come along.”