Niskanen has been in excellent form for the Grecians and his 10 assists lead the League One standings alongside Reyes Cleary of Barnsley.
The Finn, who is in his third season at St James Park after joining from Dundee United in the summer of 2023, also set up two goals in the FA Cup and says he is playing some of the best football of his career.
“From the start of the season I’ve been feeling really, really good personally,” he added.
“I thought the pre-season went really well, I’m in a really good shape physically, which is of course a massive part in my game because obviously my game is based on running a lot.
“I think the one thing I’ve been struggling a bit during the first two seasons here has been the final decision making or the execution of the cross or the final pass and there’s been a massive step up in that during the season.
“That is of course a massive credit to the whole coaching staff, to the other other team-mates as well because, without Jayden’s [Wareham] or Josh’s [Magennis] or Sonny’s [Cox] finishing I wouldn’t have any assists, so it’s a massive credit to to them as well
“We train them every week and it’s so good to see them finally paying off, but I think personally there’s still room to improve, but overall I’m in a really good place at the moment.”
