This Lightning prospect is playing excellently down in the AHL.
At the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected forward Niko Huuhtanen with the 224th overall pick. While Huuhtanen was a seventh-round pick, he has blossomed into one of the Lightning's most exciting prospects.
During last season with Jukurit of the Finnish Liiga, Huuhtanen posted 19 goals and 46 points in 52 games. After a big campaign like this, there naturally was excitement about his arrival to the Lightning's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In four post-season games with the AHL squad last year, he had two assists.
Huuhtanen is now in his first full season with the Crunch, and he is thriving. In 19 games, the 6-foot-3 winger has eight goals and 13 points. However, what's more encouraging is that he is only getting better as he continues to adjust to the AHL level.
Huuhtanen has four goals and two assists over his last five games and nine points in his last eight contests. This is excellent to see from the gritty forward, and if he keeps this up, it will help his chances of getting called up by the NHL squad.
It will be very interesting to see how Huuhtanen builds on his hot streak from here.