Prospect Info: Ville Heinola, LD, Finland (20th Overall)

[Kaako Kappo]

He played 82 games last year between Lukko U20, Lukko (34 regular season + 7 playoff games), U18 and U20.

When counting from elite prospects only count the National Team games where it says (ALL) behind. Ville played around 70 games last season. Cant be arsed to count the exact number.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

A little bit of both I think. There is some evidence that rushing a player to the NHL can result in stunted development. See Evander Kane, Alex Burmistrov and Zach Bogosian.

I think most importantly is you want them to build on their all around game and it is generally hard for an 18 year old to do that in the NHL. Just because they are playing and playing well doesn't mean they are developing. I think that is where a lot of teams get it wrong. They put an 18 year old in the NHL and that 18 is able to keep up but their development gets stunted because all they are doing is keeping up. It can be pretty fickle and has been shown to ruin development for young players more than it helps. Of course there are guys like McDavid who just have nothing left to learn at a lower level and can jump right into your top 6 and be a PPG player. It's much harder to track that with defencemen though and every single minute of development is crucial for them early on in their careers.

I tend to agree with this - but we can't know if a player was ruined or not. We can only see that he disappointed later on. We can't know if that would have been different if his development had been handled differently. He might have done 2-3 years in the AHL and turned out exactly the same. I suspect that EK9 would still have been an ***hole regardless of development.

 

[Daximus]

I tend to agree with this - but we can't know if a player was ruined or not. We can only see that he disappointed later on. We can't know if that would have been different if his development had been handled differently. He might have done 2-3 years in the AHL and turned out exactly the same. I suspect that EK9 would still have been an ***hole regardless of development.

Oh I agree but I think another year of Junior for EK would have seriously helped his offensive game. burmi had absolutely no business being in the NHL until he had a full junior career and likely a year or 2 of AHL time. Bogo was physically ready but he should have spent another year at the very least in the OHL.

Heinola seems to be progressing along nicely but my major fear is he won't be able to develop his complete offensive game with us this year. He is really being thrust into having to play a strong defensive game that it may hinder his offensive development early on.

 

[Gm0ney]

When counting from elite prospects only count the National Team games where it says (ALL) behind. Ville played around 70 games last season. Cant be arsed to count the exact number.

Whatever the exact number, it's not like he's one of these NCAA guys that play 35 games a year squeezed in between their college courses. Didn't Laine play 100 games one year? These Finnish kids play a pretty full schedule...

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Oh I agree but I think another year of Junior for EK would have seriously helped his offensive game. burmi had absolutely no business being in the NHL until he had a full junior career and likely a year or 2 of AHL time. Bogo was physically ready but he should have spent another year at the very least in the OHL.

Heinola seems to be progressing along nicely but my major fear is he won't be able to develop his complete offensive game with us this year. He is really being thrust into having to play a strong defensive game that it may hinder his offensive development early on.

I don't disagree, at all.

But, once JMo and Bowloo and Kuli get back into the lineup, Heinola might play on the 3rd pair. He would be less pressured there and might develop all aspects of his game.

Actually, results so far show no hindrance to his offensive game, but it is only 4 games. I think it is still going game by game. We'll have a better picture in another week.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Where do you think he'd be in a redraft? Too early?

Yes he'd be (gone) too early.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

So he's definitely winning the Calder right?

Definitely.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

Oh I agree but I think another year of Junior for EK would have seriously helped his offensive game. burmi had absolutely no business being in the NHL until he had a full junior career and likely a year or 2 of AHL time. Bogo was physically ready but he should have spent another year at the very least in the OHL.

Heinola seems to be progressing along nicely but my major fear is he won't be able to develop his complete offensive game with us this year. He is really being thrust into having to play a strong defensive game that it may hinder his offensive development early on.

It depends who he plays with as well.

I believe Trouba had his Norris Ceiling taken away by playing so much with Mark Stuart.

 

[Tommigun]

Definitely.

For a second I thought I was looking at a redraft list.

 

[Nordiques1979]

With which player would you compare him? LastWordOnHockey compare him to Heiskanen!

 

[Daximus]

Yes he'd be (gone) too early.

I think even today Hughes and Kakko would likely go ahead of Heinola. He could easily be top 5 though. Trouble with doing re-drafts this early is you can look really dumb in a year or really smart. For all we know Dach becomes an elite #1C 5 or 6 years down the road and he goes #1 in a re-draft.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

For a second I thought I was looking at a redraft list.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I think even today Hughes and Kakko would likely go ahead of Heinola. He could easily be top 5 though. Trouble with doing re-drafts this early is you can look really dumb in a year or really smart. For all we know Dach becomes an elite #1C 5 or 6 years down the road and he goes #1 in a re-draft.

Yup. But he'd be gone before 20. That would be too early for us.

5-6 years is about the right time to do a redraft.

 

[Hunter368]

Guys, this is a hockey forum......not a global economic or political forum. Plz stick to hockey. Thx

 

[Daximus]

Yup. But he'd be gone before 20. That would be too early for us.

5-6 years is about the right time to do a redraft.

Yeah I can't see him getting to us in a re-draft even if it's done today. Could end up being a big steal for us. Right when we needed it the most.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Yeah I can't see him getting to us in a re-draft even if it's done today. Could end up being a big steal for us. Right when we needed it the most.

Chevy has drafted very well in the first round - but he has also been lucky that very good players were not taken before he had the chance. That Trouba trade is not looking too bad right now.

 

[KingBogo]

Yeah I can't see him getting to us in a re-draft even if it's done today. Could end up being a big steal for us. Right when we needed it the most.

It might just end up that his development arc hit our draft position perfectly. In drafting kids so young some are rising and some are falling and you have to hope you hit on one going in the right direction. I trust our scouts and Chevy every time the step up to the mic at the draft.

 

[KingBogo]

Chevy has drafted very well in the first round - but he has also been lucky that very good players were not taken before he had the chance. That Trouba trade is not looking too bad right now.

I also think Chevy has done well in later rounds as well. Assuming Gus and Samberg become NHLers which is quite likely that will equal out to 1 2nd round or later pick a draft year that makes it to the NHL each draft year. Already on the roster, Lowry, Helly, Poolman, Copp, Niku, and Appleton. Add in the promise of Berdin and Suess and I'd expect this is among the better late drafting teams.

 

[tbone1968]

One of he other posters coined Ville the Kid. Nice. It's early and small sample but boy has he been something else clearing each hurdle. Having a good camp might make the team ! Might play some significant minutes ! Could stay past 9 games ! Kid keep going like this and you'll be in Calder discussion. Unbelievable so far. Looks like my paper boy but smaller. Gotta love him. Put him in the starting 5 tomorrow PoMo please and let the kid hear it

 

[Snot Rocket]

One of he other posters coined Ville the Kid. Nice. It's early and small sample but boy has he been something else clearing each hurdle. Having a good camp might make the team ! Might play some significant minutes ! Could stay past 9 games ! Kid keep going like this and you'll be in Calder discussion. Unbelievable so far. Looks like my paper boy but smaller. Gotta love him. Put him in the starting 5 tomorrow PoMo please and let the kid hear it

If he is on the ice tomorrow, there are going to be some amped up folks in the stands!
Keep killin'it kid!

 

[Jets 31]

If Buff is watching our games , seeing Heinola play has to get him a little pumped about coming back . A Buff , Heinola pairing would be fantastic .

 

[Neuf]

Ville the Kid reference on 1290 today

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Ville the Kid reference on 1290 today

So .... which one of you guys said it first? Step up and take credit.

 

[Neuf]

So .... which one of you guys said it first? Step up and take credit.

As far as I can tell

Ville the Kid

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

I also think Chevy has done well in later rounds as well. Assuming Gus and Samberg become NHLers which is quite likely that will equal out to 1 2nd round or later pick a draft year that makes it to the NHL each draft year. Already on the roster, Lowry, Helly, Poolman, Copp, Niku, and Appleton. Add in the promise of Berdin and Suess and I'd expect this is among the better late drafting teams.

Historically our second rounders have sucked. The last 2 (Gus and Samberg) have been very good though. A good sign.