Nathan Horton knows he'll be watched closely. He knows the glares he'll get if the Panthers don't score enough goals this season and he doesn't finally fulfill all of that potential everyone's talked about.

"If I'm looking for guys to do more, he wouldn't be at the top of the list," [Pete DeBoer] said. "If he can give us 30-plus, I'd be happy with Nathan. There's a group of guys underneath him that I think can make a lot bigger jumps than I need out of Nathan Horton goal-wise."

Circumstances are different this season. Because [Olli Jokinen]'s departure left the Panthers in need of a center, DeBoer moved Horton from right wing. The coach, who is from the same hometown (Dunnville, Ontario) as Horton and first watched him play as a 7-year-old, says, "We've thrown more at Nate Horton" in training camp than any other player.