Niko Huuhtanen

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