A pair that came together late in the year but was an absolute nightmare to play against. Florida\u2019s second defensive pairing has size, quick puck movement, and isn\u2019t afraid to throw the body. Mikkola just finished his second season with the Panthers and is an underrated part of their defense. Seth Jones came in at the trade deadline and made an immediate impact. The Cats now have one of the most formidable top 4s on the back end with Forsling-Ekblad and Mikkola-Jones. Mikkola isn\u2019t up for contract until next season, and Jones is signed through 2030. Jones is a minutes eater, and Mikkola is heavy on the physicality. Paired together, they\u2019ve found chemistry quickly and are able to cover a lot of ice with their size.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Niko Mikkola:<\/p>\n
Two years with the Panthers, two Stanley Cups. Not a bad way to start a tenure with a new team. Mikkola had a career year with Florida this past season, posting a career-high 22 pts (6G, 16A) in 76 games. There was a noticeable shift in Mikkola\u2019s game to be more aggressive offensively, as he often took shots on net early in the game. He had a career-high 20:11 TOI this past year and matched his career-high in shooting percentage at 5.2 with 116 SOG. Niko doesn\u2019t generally see the ice much for special teams with Forsling, Ekblad, and Jones doing most of the heavy lifting there, and Kulikov being a strong presence on the PK. With Jones now as his defensive partner, HC Paul Maurice<\/a> feels confident to put them out against anybody. Especially on the road, Mikkola and Jones generally get put out with the Barkov line to start the game so that the Panthers can cover the opponent\u2019s best players with either Barkov or Forsling, but usually not both, like they do at home. Mikkola also had a career year in the postseason, where he played 22 of the 23 games, putting up a career best 3 Goals 3 Assists with 20:12 TOI. Niko had 18 SOG and shot at a career-high 16.7% with one game-winning goal and a power play assist. His power play assist came during Game 3 of the Cup Final when HC Paul Maurice opted to put out his third power play unit, and Mikkola made the pass to Rodrigues, who scored. Nicknamed The Condour by Maurice, Niko\u2019s the tallest player on the team, 6\u20196, and uses his size to forcheck hard. When Brad Marchand<\/a> joined the team one of the first things he told the media he said to Mikkola was that he was glad he didn\u2019t have to get hit by him anymore every time he had the puck. Like his other Finnish teammates, he was named to the Team Finland roster 4 Nations roster. It was a more interesting experience for him due to how many injuries Finland\u2019s defensive roster had. With that, the situation necessitated Mikkola to play top-pairing minutes for the Finns, and he stepped up well into the larger role asked of him. Although not named to the first six players for Finland\u2019s Olympic roster, I expect he\u2019ll be on the team heading to Italy in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seth Jones:<\/p>\n