PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – The Florida Panthers continued the team’s Summer Reading Tour on Monday.
Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov was on hand at the South Regional/Broward College Library in Pembroke Pines.
Recommended Videos
He read “Get on the Ice, Mo!” to a group of approximately 50-60 kids who packed into the library for the special reading.
The kids also participated in a Q&A with Kulikov afterwards, and the questions ranged from “Why is hockey played on ice?” to “Why do you use a puck?”
One enthusiastic young man asked Kulikov if he had ever fallen and broken any bones. Kulikov smiled and said not from falling, but he broke his foot once after being hit with a puck.
Naturally, the child replied, “Can I see?”
Kulikov, who has two young children of his own, gave very thoughtful and amusing answers, sticking around for a good 15 minutes to make sure every question was answered.
The 14-year veteran played the first seven seasons of his career with the Panthers, the team that drafted him 14th overall at the 2009 NHL Draft.
Now he’s back and couldn’t be happier.
“I wanted to come home, Florida was always in my heart,” Kulikov said. “This dream came true again.”
This was the fourth of five Summer Reading Tour events the Panthers are holding this year.
The final stop will be on Saturday, Aug. 5 at 11 a.m. at the Northwest Regional Library in Coral Springs. Panthers radio voice Doug Plagens will be the special guest reader.