Player Discussion: Niku

[KingBogo]

So was listening to Skates and Plates pod this morning. Brandon made some good points about Niku. One thing stuck out was that he basically stated that Niku's work ethic and attitude wasn't great. Which begs why would you keep a guy that long if you clearly can't work with?

In a hope that the player matures to the point where they can put it together.

 

[DRW204]

So was listening to Skates and Plates pod this morning. Brandon made some good points about Niku. One thing stuck out was that he basically stated that Niku's work ethic and attitude wasn't great. Which begs why would you keep a guy that long if you clearly can't work with?

because he has skill. similar thing with Buff when he was drafted in the WHL. There were concerns about his passion and work-ethic, but if it clicked, that size+skill would be a top-player. similar to niku, if (again assuming the effort comments are correct) if clicks, you might have a good nhl player. Now, we're comparing a teen vs a guy in his 20s. Niku never struck me as a guy who didn't work-hard though, from all accounts i know, he was training hard this past summer here (take it fwiw). But i think it was a case of him thinking he was better than he really is.

 

[iannn]

I enjoyed watching Niku play, and think he might have become a different player with some changes in timing and luck, and maybe also different levels of buy-in form player and team. It's worth noting that he was considered a strong defensive player early in his career and played that role internationally. He didn't magically forget how to defend.

I also think it's a mistake to take a player who (arguably) hasn't been developed optimally and argue that his lack of success elsewhere is exclusively down to him and not a myriad of other factors, including an unsuccessful or outright botched development program -- especially when we criticize this exact pattern in other orgs.

Good luck to Sami -- hopefully he's able to find his feet in another org and fulfills that early promise. And hopefully the Jets do not drop the ball with superior prospects in blue-chipper Heinola and high-potential Samberg.

Source on him being considered a strong defensive player? I don't ever recall him being viewed that way, and I doubt someone with his early offensive numbers would be drafted in the 7th round if he was viewed as strong defensively as well.

Even looking at old threads here from 2016 / 2017, people were talking about his lack of defensive ability.

 

[DRW204]

 

[pucka lucka]

Maurice generally doesn't have any issue with his top 4 guys jumping into the play and producing. He seems to want more low risk types on his bottom pairings though much like he prefers those types on his 4th line.

Niku wasn't good enough defensively to play top 4 so as a result the fit wasn't good for the bottom pairing.

Hopefully he gets a chance somewhere else. Niku needs to go to an org where they need a PP specialist and are ok with sheltering that type of player on the third pairing.

Poolman and Bowlee-yoo were good enough to play top 4

 

[WolfHouse]

Wow that’s harsh - shocked that Niku cleared at league minimum... must be on his way to europe

 

[libertarian]

I hope that where ever Niku ends up (KHL?) he has great success.

 

[surixon]

Poolman and Bowlee-yoo were good enough to play top 4

Definitely not but Moe trusted their defensive games more hence them being moved up.

 

[ps241]

So was listening to Skates and Plates pod this morning. Brandon made some good points about Niku. One thing stuck out was that he basically stated that Niku's work ethic and attitude wasn't great. Which begs why would you keep a guy that long if you clearly can't work with?

I had heard some rumblings.

I liked Sami and had high hopes for him but he never seemed suited to the NHL from what I saw. Whileee's post about Niku really feasting on the PP in the AHL but not at evens also makes sense. Maurice can frustrate me at times but Niku never really showed me enough to hang this one on Paul. I wish Sami luck but not getting claimed off waivers is pretty telling. He might be more suited to Europe for now.

 

[jgimp]

Best wishes on his future endeavours. I hope he thrives wherever he ends up

 

[tbcwpg]

Wow that’s harsh - shocked that Niku cleared at league minimum... must be on his way to europe

He was on a one-way deal. He could sign somewhere if he's willing to take a 2-way but I'd imagine Europe would be the preferred choice.

 

[Atoyot]

Didn't expect him to get claimed at all. I do 100% expect him to be signed to a PTO though.

 

[Yukon Joe]

He was on a one-way deal. He could sign somewhere if he's willing to take a 2-way but I'd imagine Europe would be the preferred choice.

It's a mutual termination, and it was reported he didn't expect to go to Europe.

I think a PTO followed by a two-way deal is the most likely option here.

 

[10Ducky10]

A PTO or a two-way deal I could see but he's probably playing out his career across the pond.

 

[Jet]

We still have to win games, and we won 16 of 25 with Beaulieu in. All stats aside he played PK1, and PK2. Niku was a PP specialist on a team that no longer needed one. You take Beaulieu out of the PK, add Niku, and you are playing Pionk a lot more than you normally would in that situation, a few more goals against, and maybe you only win 13 of 25.

I don't know if you'll agree with me or not but for a hockey player, sometimes timing is the key. Like if we hadn't had a rash of injuries, would Ben Chiarot ever have had the chance to be a regular? And paired with Byfuglien? Sometimes it's the right coach, who likes a certain type of player. You see coaches often have players they have coached at one level or another, and the player gets a chance that way. Maurice would clearly take Beaulieu over Niku 10 times out of 10. But maybe there's a team that want a PP specialist. Those are important points.

Logical points. Kind of circles back to what Niku couldn't do that held him back as opposed to what he was good at.

 

[KingBogo]

It's a mutual termination, and it was reported he didn't expect to go to Europe.

I think a PTO followed by a two-way deal is the most likely option here.

That seems most likely. It appears no one was willing to take the risk of having to pay him $750,000 to play on their farm team.

 

[TS Quint]

Yup, being in the right place and right time as well as getting a legit opertunity count for so much more then people think when it comes to who makes it and who doesn't.

I'm not talking about the elite guys who make their own opportunities and run with them. I'm talking about average player who is likely indistinguishable in terms of effectiveness from many others.

Players like Tanev and Chariot had the fortune of playing for a head coach who loved the types of games they played. It didn't matter that both stunk out the joint as they were introduced to the show, they had a coach that liked their game and gave them opportunity to grow into decent players. In another org or situation they may not have even gotten a chance to begin or never gotten another as there was nothing special in their pre or early NHL.

On the flip side you had Petan who didn't play a game Moe liked especially for a bottom line role and so unsurpringly he was in and out of the line up and spent a tonne of time in the PB stunting his growth.

Had Petan been in an org that had a different philosophy in what player types could be used in the bottom 6 he may have developed into a useful player. A team like Tampa would have likely found some use for him on their third line had he been their prospect like what they did with Johnson, Palat etc when they broke in.

No one likes the way Petan plays. He plays minor league style.

 

[WolfHouse]

That car accident totally messed up his career... I’m sure the Jets had him pencilled in for 2019 in a major role

hallway soccer didn’t help either

 

[GumbyCan2]

Maybe he got better but there are a few bad shifts in his first few games (where he was paired with Morrissey I think?) where it was real bad. I was never high on Stanley but I wasn't upset when he kept getting the call. I'm far from the type of person who values size at the expense of skill but Stanley's size brought an element we were weak in and he just as, if not more effective as you said.

The only regret I see, as Surixon said, is not moving on from him sooner while we might have been able to get some sort of value out of him. Once we drafted Heinola and he kept improving it made keeping Niku untenable in my opinion when we already had Morrissey and Pionk as well.

Good points. Chevy should have pushed harder to get a middling draft pick or a middling prospecg of different need, skillset, position? for him a couple seasons ago.
Niku was on other teams radars after his defenseman of the year award in AHL, a couple, few years ago.

 

[GumbyCan2]

Wow. Hej! Hej!

 

[GumbyCan2]

No one likes the way Petan plays. He plays minor league style.

Hey. I love the way he plays, in prospects camp and in the WHL a century ago anyways.

 

[Garbox]

He was on a one-way deal. He could sign somewhere if he's willing to take a 2-way but I'd imagine Europe would be the preferred choice.

If his agent wasn't talking BS (that they're not after big money, but a place to get to play), Niku should be willing to take a two-way deal.

 

[tbcwpg]

If his agent wasn't talking BS (that they're not after big money, but a place to get to play), Niku should be willing to take a two-way deal.

We'll see, but a 2 way deal is more likely to land him in the minors. I think I can count the teams he might have a chance of sticking with through camp on one hand

 

[Gm0ney]

You see it all the time - guys who go the extra mile get in the coaches' good books and get a legit shot. Guys who don't...don't. If you're on the margins, you better be the former, or so skilled you can't be denied.

I will say, Finns just think and act differently than typical North American and a lot of other European players. I think it can be misinterpreted as not caring or not buying-in. Whatever it is, it just seems like there's a bit of a culture gap - like something's getting lost in translation.

 

[ps241]

He had a breakout season, which led to all the promise. I think it helped his career to start with a veteran like Cameron Schilling as a d-partner. He got to play with some good prospects in Roslovic, Petan, Appleton and De Leo his first year, so there was some firepower on the Moose. He was the right QB for the PP at the time. Afterwards at both the AHL and NHL level it was clear that he had problems defending. The same coaches who helped Tucker Poolman and Logan Stanley become pros, by improving on their weakness, can't by the same token be responsible for Niku's demise? I think Niku didn't make the necessary improvements, there was some talk that his training regimen was lacksidaisical, whatever the case may be, it's not easy to get to the show. Niku made it but didn't stick. Maybe a new opportunity, new coaches will get him back to his promise. Seems, much like Petan, to be a fringe player.

Yup, being in the right place and right time as well as getting a legit opertunity count for so much more then people think when it comes to who makes it and who doesn't.

I'm not talking about the elite guys who make their own opportunities and run with them. I'm talking about average player who is likely indistinguishable in terms of effectiveness from many others.

Players like Tanev and Chariot had the fortune of playing for a head coach who loved the types of games they played. It didn't matter that both stunk out the joint as they were introduced to the show, they had a coach that liked their game and gave them opportunity to grow into decent players. In another org or situation they may not have even gotten a chance to begin or never gotten another as there was nothing special in their pre or early NHL.

On the flip side you had Petan who didn't play a game Moe liked especially for a bottom line role and so unsurpringly he was in and out of the line up and spent a tonne of time in the PB stunting his growth.

Had Petan been in an org that had a different philosophy in what player types could be used in the bottom 6 he may have developed into a useful player. A team like Tampa would have likely found some use for him on their third line had he been their prospect like what they did with Johnson, Palat etc when they broke in.

Good posts guys

I agree when it comes to fringe NHL talent (bottom pairing bottom six) luck is a massive factor. You have to convert when you get your shot. Chairot is exhibit A of a guy who got the right break and was paired with the right guy, Logan Stanley worked his ass off but still needed some luck last year to get his look. Harkins is on the bubble but close. Some guys make is some guys miss.