The Florida Panthers used the 2025 NHL Entry Draft to add Shamar Moses, taking the right wing in the fifth round with the 129th overall pick at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Moses arrived in the OHL with the Barrie Colts and produced 25 points in his first season there. His draft year started in Barrie, where he went scoreless in five games before North Bay Battalion acquired him. Once he landed with North Bay, the offense came: 12 goals and 36 assists in 61 games, plus three assists in five playoff games before the Battalion were knocked out in the first round by the Brantford Bulldogs.
After the draft, Moses got his first look at Panthers development camp in Fort Lauderdale. He was back in Florida again in September for the 2025 NHL Prospect Tournament in Wesley Chapel, where he picked up an assist against Carolina in the opener and added another helper against Tampa Bay in the second game. He later spent time at Florida’s main training camp before heading back to North Bay for his draft-plus-one season.
That second run with the Battalion did not go the way Moses or the Panthers would have wanted. He finished with eight goals and ten assists in 48 games, a step back from his 48-point season the year before.
His minus-17 was the worst mark on the team, and he also piled up 60 penalty minutes. North Bay, though, was not an offensive machine, so the numbers deserve that bit of context.
The Battalion still made a postseason run, and Moses chipped in when it mattered. He played in four of North Bay’s ten playoff games as the club reached the second round and then got swept by Brantford. He assisted on North Bay’s lone goal in Game 2 and scored in Game 4.
Moses was back in South Florida for this summer’s development camp, where he scored for Team White in the 3-on-3 scrimmage on the final day.
The scouting reports on Moses and what he has shown in games with the Battalion don’t quite line up. Dobber Prospects described him as having the most offensive upside in Florida’s 2025 draft class, and he does bring an NHL frame, a heavy shot, and the ability to work the point.
But the production has been limited so far: just 25 OHL goals across three seasons. His better offensive tools may be his vision and passing, which showed up in that 36-assist draft season.
There is also a pattern that stands out. Moses has looked more like the advertised player in Panthers sweaters and in meaningful games.
He averaged .375 points in the regular season, then followed that with a goal and an assist in the four playoff games he played in 2026. He also had three assists in five playoff games in 2025.
When Florida has seen him at camp and in prospects settings, he has looked more polished.
Still, the raw material is obvious. Moses is a prospect who needs shaping, and the Panthers clearly like the size and offensive instincts.
He can hammer the puck, he goes to the right areas, and he’s willing to battle in traffic. The issue is skating.
His burst is limited, and he had a noticeably hard time keeping up with other drafted players during his Panthers rookie stint last summer.
For Moses, the next step is simple: he needs a strong, healthy season to put himself in position for an entry-level contract after his draft-plus-two year. That clock matters, too. He is the only unsigned forward in the organization that the Panthers need to sign before June 1, 2027, or else they lose his rights.
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