Olikin just sopivasti juttua Nikusta Athleticissa:
Sami Niku
Again, Niku is another dart and is very similar in profile to Wideman in the sense he is getting a second chance to show something he has yet to show at the NHL level. But he is only 24, so Niku discovering something that would allow him to suddenly become a legit NHL defenceman doesn’t seem quite as far-fetched as it might with Wideman.
Niku possesses the skills the Canadiens would like to add to their blue line and second power play unit, but he acknowledged Wednesday he will need to prove he can be good without the puck, which he very much wasn’t in Winnipeg. At least he knows it.
“He has that offensive aspect to his game, and that’s a talent,” Ducharme said. “There are things you can develop in a player, but offensive flair, vision, those are things that are tougher to develop in a young player. He has that.
“But he also has to be able to play a complete game, he has to be able to contribute. The reason we brought him here is because we think maybe he could become an option to be a puck-moving defenceman and to play on the power play. Something like that. But now he has to prove he can do it offensively, but also be reliable without the puck.”
Niku will get the chance to prove it soon as he will play Friday in Ottawa and might even play again Saturday at the Bell Centre. This seems like a bit of a tight window for Niku to make enough of an impression to make the team, but Ducharme has suggested the battle for this spot on defence could very well extend to the Canadiens’ final two games of the preseason next week.
For Dominique Ducharme to have the balanced defence he wants, the performances of four players in the next week will be very revealing.
theathletic.com
