The Lightning have signed one of their top prospects.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Niko Huuhtanen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Lightning selected Huuhtanen with the 224th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, the seventh-rounder has raised his value significantly as a prospect and has earned this sweet ELC because of it.
Huuhtanen, 20, has spent each of the last two seasons with Jukurit of Liiga. After posting 17 goals and 30 points in 48 games in 2022-23, he took a big step forward this campaign, recording 19 goals and 46 points in 52 games.
Huuhtanen also joined the Syracuse Crunch during the postseason, where he had zero points in two games.
Besides being a skilled player offensively, Huuhtanen is also known for playing a very heavy game. For example, in his six postseason games this year with Jukurit, he had a whopping 33 penalty minutes.
Nevertheless, it is good to see that the Bolts have signed this promising youngster to his ELC. Let's see how much of an impact he makes for the club from here.
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