Niko Huuhtanen

August 2024 – Huuhtanen signed his entry level contract with the Lightning last month and is ready to start his professional career in North America. Huuhtanen spent the last two years in Finland playing for Jukurit in Liiga. His first year in Finland he was named Liiga’s top rookie. In his second year, he led his team in points. After losing the Liiga quarterfinals, he managed to suit up for four playoff games with the Syracuse Crunch. In his limited sample with the Crunch, he already notched two assists and secured himself deployment in the second power play unit. The 6-foot-2 wing is willing to get his hands dirty and play physically. He possesses a good shot and playmaking skills that should have little issue translate to North American ice. The glaring weakness in his game is skating. It is noticeably a weakness and the faster paced North American game could prove an issue for him if he can’t improve. Huuhtanen is unlikely to make the Lightning this season. If he can work on his skating and play at the level he’s been able to in Finland, he could fight for a roster spot next season. Markus Roach

June 2022 – Huuhtanen just signed a two year agreement with Jukurit in the Liiga. He is coming off a good season and playoffs for Everett in the WHL registering 77 points in 65 games in the regular season, and 10 points in five playoff games. Playing against men will help him develop more physically and improve his pace of play. Caleb Kerney

June 2022 – Tampa may have pulled the wool over every organization’s eyes by selecting Huuhtanen with the last draft pick of the entire 2021 draft. Huuhtanen has a ton of skill and a ton of grit to his game. He has top-six winger potential: he can grind teams down by finishing his checks and relentlessly forechecking defenders in their own zone to win back possession. He’s neutral in his own zone – not a liability but not great either – which should be the minimum expectation of a scoring winger in the NHL. He has decent mobility and decent top-speed skating but will need to work on being stronger and quicker on his skates. He can create the time and space needed to score in the WHL, but without improvements to his skating, reaching his top-six potential will be difficult. Caleb Kerney