Panthers' Aleksi Heponiemi: Massive struggles in AHL

Heponiemi has just a single assist through his first seven games with AHL Springfield.

Heponiemi is just 20 years of age and playing in his first AHL campaign, so there's no need to slam the panic button here, but his play has been concerning. The lack of scoring aside, Heponiemi has just a single shot on goal in seven games, and that came in his most recent outing Saturday. In other words, the 2017 second-rounder (40th overall) went his first six games without registering a shot. The Finn is a former WHL Rookie of the Year who led Finland's Liiga in both assists (30) and points (46) last season, but he's also listed at 148 pounds and it's fair to wonder if Heponiemi is simply too slight to generate offense consistently on the smaller ice surfaces of North America.