Player Discussion Danton Heinen

[00BW]

I'm not calling out anyone here. Generally speaking, this thread of the 2014 draft starting on page 28 when Heinen was drafted is a very funny read. The outrage of drafting an unranked 4th rounder is amazing. It makes the Senyshyn outrage a year later look reasonable--at least that was over a 1st round pick.
If you're one of those guys mad at the Heinen pick, I'm not laughing at you. I do get it. Other than the automatic picks of Seguin and Hamilton, the Bruins drafting for almost a decade was a joke up to this point so it can seem like just another wasted pick.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/bruins-board-2014-nhl-draft-thread.1492563/page-28
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/bruins-board-2014-nhl-draft-thread.1492563/page-28
Also amusing if off topic a bit (if you read earlier in that thread) is the consternation people have of the Bruins not drafting Ho Sang or the 2 Russians instead of Pasta. It continues into this Pasta draft thread.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threa...-25th-overall-pick-in-the-2014-draft.1697911/

Hindsight 3.5 years later shows this to be the turnaround of the Bruins drafting woes. Hell, this might go down as a top 5 draft in Bruins history.

 

[weaponomega]

I'm not calling out anyone here. Generally speaking, this thread of the 2014 draft starting on page 28 when Heinen was drafted is a very funny read. The outrage of drafting an unranked 4th rounder is amazing. It makes the Senyshyn outrage a year later look reasonable--at least that was over a 1st round pick.
If you're one of those guys mad at the Heinen pick, I'm not laughing at you. I do get it. Other than the automatic picks of Seguin and Hamilton, the Bruins drafting for almost a decade was a joke up to this point so it can seem like just another wasted pick.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/bruins-board-2014-nhl-draft-thread.1492563/page-28
Also amusing if off topic a bit (if you read earlier in that thread) is the consternation people have of the Bruins not drafting Ho Sang or the 2 Russians instead of Pasta. It continues into this Pasta draft thread.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threa...-25th-overall-pick-in-the-2014-draft.1697911/

Hindsight 3.5 years later shows this to be the turnaround of the Bruins drafting woes. Hell, this might go down as a top 5 draft in Bruins history.

Haha nice find.

One sure way to make yourself look like a fool is to speak in absolutes in a draft day thread.

 

[BruinDust]

I'm not calling out anyone here. Generally speaking, this thread of the 2014 draft starting on page 28 when Heinen was drafted is a very funny read. The outrage of drafting an unranked 4th rounder is amazing. It makes the Senyshyn outrage a year later look reasonable--at least that was over a 1st round pick.
If you're one of those guys mad at the Heinen pick, I'm not laughing at you. I do get it. Other than the automatic picks of Seguin and Hamilton, the Bruins drafting for almost a decade was a joke up to this point so it can seem like just another wasted pick.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/bruins-board-2014-nhl-draft-thread.1492563/page-28
Also amusing if off topic a bit (if you read earlier in that thread) is the consternation people have of the Bruins not drafting Ho Sang or the 2 Russians instead of Pasta. It continues into this Pasta draft thread.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threa...-25th-overall-pick-in-the-2014-draft.1697911/

Hindsight 3.5 years later shows this to be the turnaround of the Bruins drafting woes. Hell, this might go down as a top 5 draft in Bruins history.

Interesting that a lot of the negative comments on the Pasta, Heinen, and Bjork picks are the same folks leading the charge for more "toughness" over the the Sheep Dressed in Wolves Clothing tread.

One poster (who i won't name) on Bjork - "kid won't sniff the NHL, you can quote me on that".

 

[Dueling Banjos]

I believe Malkoc is listed as Western Scout, but it doesn’t say whether he does Juniors or college, so it may be both?

I think Carlo was his as well?

Love these types of conversations and wish I had more knowledge of who was responsible for who.

Not sure if Malkoc was already on staff (believe he was), but the B’s took Colborne out of the BCHL as well. It was more rare then, but fairly commonplace now for teams to spend first round picks on these Minor Junior guys. Off the top of my head in the last couple of years there has been:

Makar, Jost, Cholowski, and Fabbro who were all Top 20 picks in the last two drafts.

Sweeney appears to be one of the GM’s that stays pretty active in the scouting area. If I had to guess, it’s probably because he enjoys it so much.

Dean Malkoc is, just like Frank Brimsek was, of Slovenian descent. Offtopic in a way but i like this little connection.

 

[00BW]

Interesting that a lot of the negative comments on the Pasta, Heinen, and Bjork picks are the same folks leading the charge for more "toughness" over the the Sheep Dressed in Wolves Clothing tread.

One poster (who i won't name) on Bjork - "kid won't sniff the NHL, you can quote me on that".

They were all about 6' and 160 lbs on draft day so it meant there was no immediate help from this draft crop. It definitely looks like they drafted high hockey IQ, self motivated (driven) guys that love hockey so were committed to developing and getting better. Pasta showed us what he was going to be those first 2 years but it wasn't until last year when he finally bulked up to 185 that he became the offensive force he is. Everyone else in that 2014 Bruins draft class has now bulked up to at least that weight too.

I looked for that 2014 draft thread to post in but it was closed so I'll post it here. That 2014 is the first time the Bruins eschewed the big, tough, physically mature guys with limited upside and instead picked a bunch of slight but highly skilled guys with EVERY pick. It was a bold, long term investment for the franchise. It's been great to watch Heinen emerge this year as the 2nd star of this draft for the Bruins. Bjork has shown he can be an NHL player but his breakout year might be 2018-19 instead. Those 3 alone make for an A+ draft and that doesn't even factor in NCAA goal-per-game Donato or puck mover Johansson. Truly incredible.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

I was wrong on both Heinen and Bjork but I'm not interested in eating crow on that right now as I've FED MYSELF crow on both those guys plenty of times the last few years... I didn't need anyone to point it out, I pointed it out myself and have been very complimentary of Heinen. Bjork, I'm still not sold on but I'm optimistic if he can get bigger and stronger on the puck without losing shiftiness.

Looking back at the 2014 draft, I responded to it in the same way that I would post in a game day thread during a losing streak--all emotion that overrode rationale, patience or optimism. But, like many here (and many now in Edmonton), I was completely at the end of my rope with the Chiarelli regime and, I'm not sure it mattered who they drafted in 2014, I would have complained about it because we were coming off of the longest stretch of terrible drafting in franchise history.

Also, this is a reminder to me that I've done really well scouting guys that I've actually seen play but am pretty awful as a keyboard warrior internet scout.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

One poster (who i won't name) on Bjork - "kid won't sniff the NHL, you can quote me on that".

That was me, chief. I said you could "quote me on that" so go ahead and quote me on that.... just like I said. I've owned it since and I certainly was not the only one down on the H + B picks. I was very down on the Bruins/drafting/picks ... see previous post. Every poster here with an opinion, if you look through their posting history, has a lot of swings and misses. The annoying posters are the ones who don't really add anything to the discussion but still like to point out --using amazing 20/20 hindsight-- when others went wrong.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I was wrong on both Heinen and Bjork but I'm not interested in eating crow on that right now as I've FED MYSELF crow on both those guys plenty of times the last few years... I didn't need anyone to point it out, I pointed it out myself and have been very complimentary of Heinen. Bjork, I'm still not sold on but I'm optimistic if he can get bigger and stronger on the puck without losing shiftiness.

Looking back at the 2014 draft, I responded to it in the same way that I would post in a game day thread during a losing streak--all emotion that overrode rationale, patience or optimism. But, like many here (and many now in Edmonton), I was completely at the end of my rope with the Chiarelli regime and, I'm not sure it mattered who they drafted in 2014, I would have complained about it because we were coming off of the longest stretch of terrible drafting in franchise history.

Also, this is a reminder to me that I've done really well scouting guys that I've actually seen play but am pretty awful as a keyboard warrior internet scout.

I wish hf wasn't so dead set against bringing back posts from the past when some of us are so adamant about our positions and get it so wrong. ive always been willing to own up when I'm wrong because honestly I think hockey has a lot of room for taking left handed turns. I fully expect to be wrong more often than I'm right whenever I make a strong stance based on my opinions

and whenever we are trying to predict a players future success its always opinion

props colt for owning up here. I never had any strong opinions of heinen so I cant eat a lot of crow on him specifically, but at the same time I never predicted any success so I was just asleep at the wheel as this kid slowly improved day by day until he became what we see now.

I am pretty lucky that I don't have any history of predicting failure for kids that went on to make it... because as an optimist I want to believe in success for everyone

I did predict that Bjork didn't seem likely to have a long healthy relationship in boston. going back a couple years I thought the signs pointed that he would be traded. jury is still out on that one.

I predicted khoklachev would never get a chance in boston and would be back in Russia before we knew it... posted that in the draft day thread and was torn apart for it by the insiders here

but usually I don't predict that type of future for any of the kids we draft

anyhow... the good news is... when we are wrong and a kid exceeds expectations we are happy to be wrong. I hope heinen keeps making us happier and happier to be wrong about him

 

[22Brad Park]

I wish hf wasn't so dead set against bringing back posts from the past when some of us are so adamant about our positions and get it so wrong. ive always been willing to own up when I'm wrong because honestly I think hockey has a lot of room for taking left handed turns. I fully expect to be wrong more often than I'm right whenever I make a strong stance based on my opinions

and whenever we are trying to predict a players future success its always opinion

props colt for owning up here. I never had any strong opinions of heinen so I cant eat a lot of crow on him specifically, but at the same time I never predicted any success so I was just asleep at the wheel as this kid slowly improved day by day until he became what we see now.

I am pretty lucky that I don't have any history of predicting failure for kids that went on to make it... because as an optimist I want to believe in success for everyone

I did predict that Bjork didn't seem likely to have a long healthy relationship in boston. going back a couple years I thought the signs pointed that he would be traded. jury is still out on that one.

I predicted khoklachev would never get a chance in boston and would be back in Russia before we knew it... posted that in the draft day thread and was torn apart for it by the insiders here

but usually I don't predict that type of future for any of the kids we draft

anyhow... the good news is... when we are wrong and a kid exceeds expectations we are happy to be wrong. I hope heinen keeps making us happier and happier to be wrong about him

Barzal I was dead wrong about or at least it seems I am to date.I think Bruins found a diamond in rough with Heinen.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Barzal I was dead wrong about or at least it seems I am to date.I think Bruins found a diamond in rough with Heinen.

when I get wrong its usually because I predict too much success and the prospect falls short. for one year I was doing the future reports for this website. during that year I had to call and interview some of the bruin prospects and I got over excited. when I talked to andy Hilbert I liked him so much I just felt he would become a main bruin.

it was at this time I would get excited about propsects like Shayne Stevenson and Cameron mann and kyle wanvig. anytime one of our prospects did something special in the juniors I would believe he had a great career waiting for him

I suppose now 15 years later I have grown more jaded in my experience. I try not to get too excited about any kids anymore. I still remain hopeful for most of them but history has taught me that most don't turn out as well as we hope

and yet... some do turn out. even if failure is the most common outcome, we must still endure and try

so when success comes now, I think I enjoy it more. its not expected but its always so welcome.

I don't begrudge this barzal kid his success. I hope he gets a huge contract one day and provides for himself and his family. but I don't lose sleep over kids that end up on other teams. there will always be good players that end up on other teams

I just worry who is on our team

 

[BruinDust]

That was me, chief. I said you could "quote me on that" so go ahead and quote me on that.... just like I said. I've owned it since and I certainly was not the only one down on the H + B picks. I was very down on the Bruins/drafting/picks ... see previous post. Every poster here with an opinion, if you look through their posting history, has a lot of swings and misses. The annoying posters are the ones who don't really add anything to the discussion but still like to point out --using amazing 20/20 hindsight-- when others went wrong.

Colt I like you stuff and respect your opinion. But I'll ask this, when you said Bjork wouldn't sniff the NHL, what did you base it on? How many times in his draft year did you see him play? What was it about him from your viewings that made you so certain he wasn't going to ever play in the NHL?

It's fair to criticize a pick based on what attributes we like in players. Heck, I criticized the Carlo pick as it appeared he would just be another "McQuaid type" (tall defensive D-man with limited upside), and even though I didn't love the pick at the time, I wasn't about to proclaim he would never make it, because none of us know who will make it and who won't.

 

[00BW]

Sorry Colt or anyone else, I was not trying to call you out. It's just a funny 'sky is falling' read through those posts that I thought we could all enjoy now that enough time has passed and the Bruins are playing their best hockey in years. And I do agree, that horrible drafting record by Chiarelli is reason enough to doubt his judgement. It's almost like the Bruins had to suffer that drought in order to get this amazing 2014 crop. He has such horrible judgement that was emphasized this week when we learned he tried to trade Hall straight up for Ceci--and amazingly Ottawa didn't jump on that and lost out.

None of us have excellent judgement on prospects. I for sure thought Subban was cooked and didn't mind loosing him because McIntyre was going to be the future in the Bruins net. I certainly got that one backwards and loosing Subban may end up as GM DS's biggest mistake--yes, more so than Barzal. Looks like there will be another couple of years of questionable backups until Vladar, Swayman, or Keyser can play well enough to take the spot.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

Colt I like you stuff and respect your opinion. But I'll ask this, when you said Bjork wouldn't sniff the NHL, what did you base it on? How many times in his draft year did you see him play? What was it about him from your viewings that made you so certain he wasn't going to ever play in the NHL?

I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure that I saw Bjork a grand total of zero times in his draft year. That's what I was saying in my previous post ie. I was treating that draft thread like a game day thread *where we are losing (what does that feel like, I can hardly remember) and I'm just blowing off some steam. That is why I said it is a good reminder to me to only talk about players that I have actually seen in person. After the Heinen pick (when I saw there was nothing on him out there) I sent out quick texts to my buddy involved with a WHL team right next door to Heinen and he had nothing good to say on Heinen so I was bummed out... and so I figured that the next guy up (Bjork) had to have even less of a shot to be an NHLer than the guy nobody had heard of.

Because this is a Heinen thread, I'm keeping it on him here but, I have another friend who is a part owner of a BCHL team and he is absolutely shocked that Heinen turned out this good, he saw him live against his team a few times and didn't remember him at all. Credit to the Bruins staff for that find. I loved him in the preseason last year --he was our best forward (I watched all preseason games but 1) but seemed to lose his confidence when Julien got back to Boston and Heinen struggled, then confidence seemed to go etc. but you could see right from that first preseason game that he is incredibly, incredibly smart. In a shift he makes three subtle plays that is the same as dangling a guy to open up space.

Again, tell me what player has ever been able to produce while playing with Riley Nash? When has Nash ever produced with anyone in Boston? Whichever line Heinen is on, is producing. He's spent time on the 4th this year as well and was putting up some points when that line was an ineffective black hole.

 

[00BW]

So true. Nash had been a black hole of offense since his arrival. Backes had trouble producing with both Krejci and Bergeron. You put them together and you expect the worst but then they get this 4th round, rookie LW and that line cant stop scoring. Heinen just consistently wins board battles.

And that play on the PP last night was amazing. He snagged the clearing attempt that was 4-5 feet in the air and brought it straight down. Then, while being physically checked, he brought the puck from stick, to skate, back to stick, then to Bergy. He did mos of the work to get that Pasta goal. If that was McDavid, the Canadian media would have done a 30 minute breakdown of the play.

 

[Gee Wally]

Danton Heinen giving Bruins shot in arm - The Boston Globe

Quietly, but assertively, Danton Heinen has been the Bruins’ most consistent offensive producer the last six weeks. Amid the club’s torrid 17-3-2 run, the soft-spoken left winger also put himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation.
Heinen, 22, had an assist in the Bruins’ 7-1 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday night, giving him a line of 10-19—29 through 35 games.
Consider: Heinen went into Saturday’s game ranked fourth among first-year NHL scorers. Only Vancouver’s Brock Boeser (38), the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal (37), and Arizona’s Clayton Keller (32) ranked higher than Heinen.

 

[00BW]

It appears that Danton Heinen has found a home in the NHL - The Boston Globe

 

[Mpasta]

That was me, chief. I said you could "quote me on that" so go ahead and quote me on that.... just like I said. I've owned it since and I certainly was not the only one down on the H + B picks. I was very down on the Bruins/drafting/picks ... see previous post. Every poster here with an opinion, if you look through their posting history, has a lot of swings and misses. The annoying posters are the ones who don't really add anything to the discussion but still like to point out --using amazing 20/20 hindsight-- when others went wrong.

You were wrong but it's still better to be wrong (like I have been in the past) than to say every guy is going to be a top player one day and when 1 out of 10 are, they pat themselves on the back forgetting about all of the players they were wrong about.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

It appears that Danton Heinen has found a home in the NHL - The Boston Globe

Thanks for sharing. I ended that article with a smile on my face.

 

[Gordoff]

I wish hf wasn't so dead set against bringing back posts from the past when some of us are so adamant about our positions and get it so wrong. ive always been willing to own up when I'm wrong because honestly I think hockey has a lot of room for taking left handed turns. I fully expect to be wrong more often than I'm right whenever I make a strong stance based on my opinions

and whenever we are trying to predict a players future success its always opinion

props colt for owning up here. I never had any strong opinions of heinen so I cant eat a lot of crow on him specifically, but at the same time I never predicted any success so I was just asleep at the wheel as this kid slowly improved day by day until he became what we see now.

I am pretty lucky that I don't have any history of predicting failure for kids that went on to make it... because as an optimist I want to believe in success for everyone

I did predict that Bjork didn't seem likely to have a long healthy relationship in boston. going back a couple years I thought the signs pointed that he would be traded. jury is still out on that one.

I predicted khoklachev would never get a chance in boston and would be back in Russia before we knew it... posted that in the draft day thread and was torn apart for it by the insiders here

but usually I don't predict that type of future for any of the kids we draft

anyhow... the good news is... when we are wrong and a kid exceeds expectations we are happy to be wrong. I hope heinen keeps making us happier and happier to be wrong about him

I must say AOF that you put your neck out more than anyone here. You also never take offence when someone else takes a shot at your proposals etc. You make interesting proposals (sometimes a little outlandish) but interesting nonetheless, Kudos!

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I was wrong on both Heinen and Bjork but I'm not interested in eating crow on that right now as I've FED MYSELF crow on both those guys plenty of times the last few years... I didn't need anyone to point it out, I pointed it out myself and have been very complimentary of Heinen. Bjork, I'm still not sold on but I'm optimistic if he can get bigger and stronger on the puck without losing shiftiness.

Looking back at the 2014 draft, I responded to it in the same way that I would post in a game day thread during a losing streak--all emotion that overrode rationale, patience or optimism. But, like many here (and many now in Edmonton), I was completely at the end of my rope with the Chiarelli regime and, I'm not sure it mattered who they drafted in 2014, I would have complained about it because we were coming off of the longest stretch of terrible drafting in franchise history.

Also, this is a reminder to me that I've done really well scouting guys that I've actually seen play but am pretty awful as a keyboard warrior internet scout.

Colt, I always found the majority of your WHL stuff to be spot on. I assume that’s because of your proximity, the ability to watch these kids, and some connections that you alluded to.

One of my favorite Clint Eastwood lines is from Magnum Force:

“A man’s got to know his limitations.”

I try to use that credo when I’m giving my prospect opinions and limit my strongest “takes” to kids I have seen (preferably live) multiple times. It’s worked out pretty well, but not always. While I was all over Sobotka and Marchand (and down on Hamill) after seeing them a lot in PRO, I completely whiffed on Boychuck, who was also on that team.

You aren’t going to get them all right. The thing that drives me crazy is the way some posters (not directed at you) speak with absolute certainty about these kids that are early in their development and taken in later rounds.

I was fortunate enough to see Heinen at Denver 20+ times because of the sports cable package I had. I knew with 100% certainty that this kid was going to be a player. It was primarily because of the plays he made away from the puck and the way he reads plays and gets in lanes. I knew his hockey IQ was high and he had really good hands and vision. I figured with that skillset, things would eventually work out for him.

I can’t imagine that he’s sneaking up on people anymore at this point, but it will be interesting to see how he adapts his game as teams pay even more defensive attention to him. I think he will figure it out and continue to be effective.

 

[ODAAT]

I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure that I saw Bjork a grand total of zero times in his draft year. That's what I was saying in my previous post ie. I was treating that draft thread like a game day thread *where we are losing (what does that feel like, I can hardly remember) and I'm just blowing off some steam. That is why I said it is a good reminder to me to only talk about players that I have actually seen in person. After the Heinen pick (when I saw there was nothing on him out there) I sent out quick texts to my buddy involved with a WHL team right next door to Heinen and he had nothing good to say on Heinen so I was bummed out... and so I figured that the next guy up (Bjork) had to have even less of a shot to be an NHLer than the guy nobody had heard of.

Because this is a Heinen thread, I'm keeping it on him here but, I have another friend who is a part owner of a BCHL team and he is absolutely shocked that Heinen turned out this good, he saw him live against his team a few times and didn't remember him at all. Credit to the Bruins staff for that find. I loved him in the preseason last year --he was our best forward (I watched all preseason games but 1) but seemed to lose his confidence when Julien got back to Boston and Heinen struggled, then confidence seemed to go etc. but you could see right from that first preseason game that he is incredibly, incredibly smart. In a shift he makes three subtle plays that is the same as dangling a guy to open up space.

Again, tell me what player has ever been able to produce while playing with Riley Nash? When has Nash ever produced with anyone in Boston? Whichever line Heinen is on, is producing. He's spent time on the 4th this year as well and was putting up some points when that line was an ineffective black hole.

It`s posts like this that have me respect your opinion a great deal. Accountability and when wrong, state it then not feel the need to continue eating crow about it. Like you, I`ve eaten plenty, by the way, that Knife and Fork I lent you for the last feeding, I want it back please as I suspect I`ll need it again at some point in the future

 

[ORR2Sanderson2ORR]

"I wasn't happy when I got sent down that second time," said Heinen. "I thought I had shown OK when I came up for those few games. I needed to be that first guy to get called up. That's what I had to do – keep working and be the first guy called up." When he got another chance in the NHL, Heinen wanted to prove he belonged and he has been a key player during Boston's recent surge. He has registered 10 goals and 30 points in 36 contests this season, which ranks him fourth among all rookies in scoring.

Source: Boston Globe

 

[BMC]

It appears that Danton Heinen has found a home in the NHL - The Boston Globe

I sure hope so. I love this kid.

 

[mjhfb]

The kids are all so skilled now that the margin for differentiating yourself from your competition is getting thinner each year. IMHO Heinen did it by making better on ice decisions; nothing else about his game separates him, yet he consistently gets the job done.

He should be a good one for years - generally, players that rely on speed alone get slower but smart players don't get stupider.

 

[Nigel C Swab]

Played with Heinen a bit in junior, not surprised to see his success. He has incredible hockey IQ and poise. Not the flashiest player, but in my experience, the players that tend to transition smoothly as they move up levels show the same qualities as he did. This is especially true amongst Jr. A players like him. Great kid off the ice too, couldn't happen to a better guy