Niko Mikkola Has Taken Mantle as Florida’s Bonafide No. 3 Defenseman

Niko Mikkola has taken the mantle as the bonafide No. 3 defenseman on the Florida Panthers — and the team believes he can take his game to another level.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Panthers (Twitter/FlaPanthers)

In a season where the Florida Panthers have relied on Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad heavily, Niko Mikkola has provided the top pairing with some relief.

And he is doing so in ways he hasn’t quite done so earlier in his career.

The big, 6-foot-6 defenseman has two goals and 11 points in 29 games while averaging 20:14 of time-on-ice per game.

Simply put, he is on pace to shatter his previous career highs of three goals and 14 points from the 82-game campaign he put together last season while playing quality defense next to a rotating cast of partners.

“I don’t know, I got a couple of lucky ones, I guess,” Mikkola joked when asked about the offensive surge. “Well, the coaches tell us to jump up into the play when there’s a chance and I think that’s been working for us and we’re just getting the shots through sometimes. I don’t think I’ve changed that much in my game, but right now it’s just been going in a couple times.”