Florida Panthers: Highlighting Juho Lammikko’s Short-Lived Rookie Season

Following several relatively decent seasons in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds, centerman Juho Lammikko earned a spot on the fourth line for the Florida Panthers during the 2018-19 NHL campaign.

Juho Lammikko was previously selected with the 65th overall selection by the Florida Panthers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The native of Finland impressed the coaching staff during training camp and preseason action.

Essentially, Lammikko would become demoted after the preseason concluded. However, his stay with the Springfield Thunderbirds was evidently short-lived.

The Cats were in desperate need of a fourth line centerman following the season-ending injury sustained by former captain Derek MacKenzie. Therefore, the Panthers would subsequently recall Juho Lammikko after he participated in one game for Springfield.

While Lammikko doesn’t provide sensational scoring abilities or adequate point productivity, he does a superb job in other important aspects of the game.

Juho possesses tremendous awareness and defensive abilities, which help limit the scoring chances from the opposition whenever he’s on the ice for Florida.

Moreover, Lammikko hardly turns the puck over (12 turnovers in 40 games played), which implies that he’s certainly a responsible two-way centerman.

In 40 games played with the Panthers, Juho Lammikko recorded 0G, 6A, for 6 points. Ultimately, Lammikko’s statistics offensively were underwhelming, but with more experience and playing time, Juho will certainly develop into a more improved point producer at the NHL level.

The main highlight of Juho Lammikko’s season with the Panthers was a road game against the Ottawa Senators.

Lammikko would tie a franchise record for most assists in a regular season game (4), with all four assists being primary helpers. His brilliant performance contributed to a 7-5 victory in the process.

Additionally, Lammikko did a splendid job on the penalty kill, too. With top penalty killers such as Derek MacKenzie, Vincent Trocheck, and Colton Sceviour all missing time because of injuries, Lammikko stepped into their role and performed admirably.

Juho also contributed 21 blocked shots and 45 total hits, playing a fairly physical style of hockey as the fourth line checking center for the Florida Panthers.

However, with the return of Vincent Trocheck from surgery, the Florida Panthers were forced to demote one centerman.

The Panthers kept Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Henrik Borgstrom, and Jared McCann as their four centermen on the main roster.

Therefore, the club ultimately demoted Juho Lammikko on January 19th, where the 23-year-old would spend the remainder of the pro-hockey season with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

The Panthers realized that the young Finn might require further development in the minors before being given a full-time role on the team.

The demotion essentially helped Juho in terms of producing more consistently on the offensive end of the ice.

In 36 games played with the T-Birds, Lammikko recorded a statistical line of 6G, 12A, for 18 points, averaging approximately 0.5 points per game while playing exceptionally well defensively.

In essence, Lammikko experienced a relatively successful rookie season with the Panthers, and the AHL assignment truly helped him improve offensively.

With Riley Sheahan becoming an unrestricted free agent, the Florida Panthers might provide the hungry Juho Lammikko with the opportunity to earn a spot on the 2020 opening night lineup.

If Lammikko impresses in training camp and performs well in the preseason, then the Finnish centerman will likely begin the 2020 campaign as the fourth line center for your Florida Panthers.