Panthers Goalie Details His Mental Health Battle

Supremely talented goalie Spencer Knight had his career hit a speed bump recently when the 22 year old entered the NHL's Player Assistance Program last February. At the time the reason wasn't made known to the public.

Knight sat down with the The Hockey News for an interview and revealed the reason behind his departure from the Florida Panthers.


Knight disclosed that his battle with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), led him to seek help from the NHL/NHL Players' Association player assistance program.


Things began during his freshman year at Boston College in 2019. He began to wash his hands excessively. It was a behavior that he couldn't explain. Things came to a head during a game in Winnipeg. After falling ill and being pulled from the game, Knight's mind began to wander filling with negative thoughts about the illness. This caused Knight to lose sleep at night and led to brief lapses of focus in games.

With Knight on the sidelines watching his team's run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, he had plenty of time to reflect.

Knight told the Hockey News. «I never wanted to feel like a burden.»

Knight worked with an OCD expert and had conversations with other people who had OCD about how to go about their lives, and now feels much more equipped to live life without worrying about the things he can't control. He believes that he's able to handle the uncertainty that will come with returning to goaltending after all the time he spent away from it, and that it will help him become better at the position.


The 13th overall pick from the 2019 draft has spent parts of three seasons with the Panthers. Knight had his GAA balloon to 3.18 and save percentage grow to .901, while sporting a 9-8-1 record last season.

Knight is expected to join the Panthers for regular training camp next week and compete for the backup spot with newly-signed Anthony Stolarz for the No. 2 job behind Sergei Bobrovsky.