In a short period of time, his impact is being felt on both sides of the puck.
“The guys here are unbelievable and have helped me adjust so much since I came here,” Mikkola, who’s playing in his fifth season in the NHL. “It’s been very exciting for me.”
After putting pen to paper with the Panthers in July, Mikkola quickly made the move to South Florida. Although he was joining a new team and getting situated in a new city, he also found a piece of home by reuniting with former Liiga teammate Eetu Luostarinen.
The two most recently played together at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.
“It’s been nice,” Mikkola said of the serendipitous reunion with the fellow Finn. “I’ve known him since we were little. We talked a bit in the summer when I signed the deal, and it was exciting for both him and I. We share lots of memories on the ice together, and it’s been good to see him here and so nice to be on the same team as him again.”
Armed with a blend of size and skill, Mikkola’s versatility allows him to put numbers on the scoreboard, block shots from all over the ice, and utilize his imposing stature to quickly close gaps on opposing players and disrupt passing lanes with his long reach.
“I play my own game out there on the ice,” said Mikkola, who has appeared in 177 games in his NHL career. “I play a simple game, always work to improve what I do.”
Cats head coach Paul Maurice said he has high hopes for this blossoming blueliner.
“He will play his best hockey here,” Maurice said after a practice earlier this month. “Something we value and we talk about is that you got to get on the puck, so what we like the most is his range. He’s a big man that can get from the middle of the ice to the board incredibly quickly and we think he’s going to be a real good defender. We think the way that he’s built to play is perfectly built to our system.”
In Saturday’s 3-2 win over Seattle, Mikkola showed off his all-around game with one blocked shot, two hits and a team-leading seven shots on goal over 22:13 of ice time.
