Niku’s Been Busy

It was a quiet week for most of the Jets as they had their bye week followed by the NHL All-Star weekend. Among those who didn’t get time off was Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, and Sami Niku. No, Niku was not an NHL All-Star this year like Wheeler and Scheifele were, rather he was able to join the Moose for a couple of games  and continue to play even though the Jets were idle.

This was a great move by the organization to keep Niku playing as much as possible. It’s been a struggle for him to get into game action this season as he sat in the pressbox for a month earlier in the year.

Niku joined the Moose on the road as they took on the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Rockford IceHogs. Niku had a point in each game with an assist against the Griffins and a goal against the IceHogs. These points actually gave a Niku a four game point streak as he scored in the last two games before getting called up previously.

With 12 points in 19 games, Niku continues to excel when playing with the Moose. Niku’s also had an impressive run as of late where he was putting together quality games for the Jets at the NHL level. With this recent play, it appears that he will be able to make the jump to the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Niku will get his chance to prove his worth once again as the Jets called him back up with both Byfuglien and Chiarot still out. This means he is set to play against the Flyers tonight.

If Niku continues to play well, it’s going to be tough for the organization to send him down when Chiarot is back in the lineup. Unfortunately for Niku, due to his contract status and not having to clear waivers, he will likely be the casualty regardless of how he plays in the upcoming days. For the time being, he needs to continue proving himself against strong competition in the NHL and show the coaching staff that he belongs on the Jets roster for the rest of the season.