"It helped a lot. Now I know what kind of game it is in the NHL, and it's much easier now," said Niku. "It's always different in playoffs, more hits and a more physical game. But it's still the same game. I think I could handle that."
Niku scored his first NHL goal while playing just over 15 minutes in that regular season debut, and should he get in the line-up head coach Paul Maurice wouldn't want the 2015 seventh round pick to change his game one bit.
"He's good at getting the puck quick and then moving it quick, and then he can find those holes. That's going to be true his whole career," said Maurice. "Having the confidence to do it in a game that has more weight to it, that's all part of that experience that so many of these young players have gone through. And they've all been able to do it.
"Look at these first-year playoff guys, maybe the first 10 minutes of that first game was tight for everybody, but they got to their game pretty quick. So anybody that comes in, first and foremost, sell what you're good at."
Niku has been more than good at the AHL level this season. He won the league's Eddie Shore Award as the best defenceman, and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team and First All-Star Team, thanks to his 16 goals and 54 points in 76 games.
"I'm not a guy who is nervous. It's a normal game for me," said Niku. "I've always been confident. I have to have that with my game style. I've always had that."
That kind of confidence is something Maurice is seeing more of from young players. He believes some of it may come from the increased exposure they get at a young age. In Niku's case, he represented Finland at the World Under-18 Championship in 2013-14, as well as at the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Hockey Championship events.
Two seasons of pro hockey with JYP in the Finnish Liiga doesn't hurt either.
"(He) doesn't seem overly phased by the stage. It's a good thing. Run the right risk, right. If you skate real well and think you can get into a hole, then skate as fast as you can and get into that hole," said Maurice. "Do the things you normally do. I think in all of the games you see, there's a tremendous amount of excitement and tension in that first 10 minutes, and then everybody settles in - the crowd, the teams, the game itself settles - and then it will be a game of hockey."
