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

[Halberdier]

Not baseball, it's a different game, derived from baseball. It's a joke of a game and IMO even pretty shameful but it's popular.

Actually Finnish "baseball" is legit and interesting sport, whereas the American baseball is one of the most dull games I know, and not very sporty unlike ice hockey, basketball and those NA football variations.

It's a bit stretch to even say Finnish baseball is a derivative of American baseball, yet they both have bases, balls, gloves and bats -- all these four different though.

 

[1OApick]

Not his best game but he this will be great lesson and definitely deserves roster spot for the whole season.

 

[MardyBum]

Welcome to the NHL, where being a rookie means you don't get the calls

 

[ijuka]

Actually Finnish "baseball" is legit and interesting sport, whereas the American baseball is one of the most dull games I know, and not very sporty unlike ice hockey, basketball and those NA football variations.

It's a bit stretch to even say Finnish baseball is a derivative of American baseball, yet they both have bases, balls, gloves and bats -- all these four different though.

It's a sport where the focus is on everyone but the batter screaming their lungs off. If they had to be quiet perhaps it'd be worth watching.

 

[PhilJets]

Ville Boy

Dont worry about it!

You're doing fine.

Your rush resulting in that game winning goal was good.

If it was buff he will go behind the net and try to wrap it around

Or if it was Myers he will fire a slapper from a bad angle


Trouba he will dump it in

 

[QnebO]

... um, there are still 78 games left, no?
Oh, never mind me. Might as well celebrate when we can. 3 points in four games, and above average play in his own zone... way to go little Finnish kid!

I literally said early But go ahead get salty. Heinolas Name absolutely cannot be even mentioned at top.

 

[DannyGallivan]

He was not up to snuff tonight, but that is to be expected. His inexperience and puniness were apparent. As was said, he'll learn from it, and it didn't cost us the game or anything.

 

[Daximus]

Interesting video from Scouching about Heinola's game against the Rags.

 

[JetsUK]

Interesting video from Scouching about Heinola's game against the Rags.

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting and nice combo of shift-by-shift detail and evaluation.

 

[Daximus]

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting and nice combo of detail and evaluation.

Yeah Will Scouch does really solid analysis on prospects. He does live streams every once in awhile on Youtube where you can pop in and ask him questions about prospects and he'll go into detail about the info he has on them. He also does post draft analysis as well. Wish I had the tools and time to do something like it.

 

[Jet]

Yea at the end of the day if we are planning on healthy scratching Niku I would send Heinola back to develop and give Sami 70 plus games if that is what would happen. Ideally they would both be in the line up but our coach has his blind spots.

I don't think he has 'blind spots'. As we've already seen this season, there are teams that are very large and hard to handle up front (look at us). It's not dinosauric to believe that size still matters in the NHL. Of course, when skill far outstrips size you have to defer to skill (read: Josh Morrissey), but having a blueline where your top 4 is Morrissey, Pionk, Heinola and Niku presents a very real problem for a team that sees the likes of the Blues, the Wild, and the Preds so many times in a season.

You still need size on defense. You need guys who can use force to break up cycles, withstand punishment, and push back against physicality. It's not a outdated theory, it's very real and I'd love to see one NHL manager or coach that disagrees with it (or players for that matter).

 

[Adam da bomb]

Has Heinola grown in areas identified by Scouch since NYR game?

 

[Daximus]

Has Heinola grown in areas identified by Scouch since NYR game?

I think we are still seeing that awkward stride in trying to close gaps and he is still very limited in what he can do against players with high speed. One thing we saw in that game against the Wild is that heavy forecheck made it difficult for him to make decisions as he's likely never faced a team that heavy on the forecheck before.Learning what to do against those heavy forechecks will take time and experience. It's good he saw a team like that early on so he can use the next few games to prepare to face a team like that again if he sticks around. We have a bit of a softer schedule coming up in terms of heavy forechecking teams so he'll have to stick around past 9 games to see another team like that.

I think if he can gain more agility, acceleration and top end speed his game would take a massive step forward. Unreasonable to expect him to do that anytime soon, but in a few years if his skating takes some big steps forward he could be a force with his IQ.

 

[Adam da bomb]

I think we are still seeing that awkward stride in trying to close gaps and he is still very limited in what he can do against players with high speed. One thing we saw in that game against the Wild is that heavy forecheck made it difficult for him to make decisions as he's likely never faced a team that heavy on the forecheck before.

I think if he can gain more agility, acceleration and top end speed his game would take a massive step forward. Unreasonable to expect him to do that anytime soon, but in a few years if his skating takes some big steps forward he could be a force with his IQ.

But Scouch also mentioned Villa's decision making.

 

[Daximus]

But Scouch also mentioned Villa's decision making.

He has been on the riskier side of things but it usually pays off. That's the thing with young risky defenders. They are going to get burned every once in awhile, it's how they react that makes the difference. Ville never seems to give up on a play which is exactly what you want in that risky defender type.

 

[Adam da bomb]

He has been on the riskier side of things but it usually pays off. That's the thing with young risky defenders. They are going to get burned every once in awhile, it's how they react that makes the difference. Ville never seems to give up on a play which is exactly what you want in that risky defender type.

Also surprised Scouch says villa only moves up to 17 I'd think he's top 15.

 

[Daximus]

Also surprised Scouch says villa only moves up to 17 I'd think he's top 15.

No he had him ranked 17 heading into the draft. A few games likely won't change that yet.

 

[hn777]

It's not dinosauric to believe that size still matters in the NHL.

More like dinosaurice

 

[kylbaz]

Where was he tonight? I haven't heard

 

[surixon]

I am thinking that the Jets will likely send him back to Finland for the year. He is a great prospect and has had his moments but he still has some physical maturing to do.

 

[bustamente]

I am thinking that the Jets will likely send him back to Finland for the year. He is a great prospect and has had his moments but he still has some physical maturing to do.

Agreed, still think he will get 9 games, he has opened my eyes as a prospect but he still has holes in his game that are better served playing at a lower level.

 

[ps241]

I don't think he has 'blind spots'. As we've already seen this season, there are teams that are very large and hard to handle up front (look at us). It's not dinosauric to believe that size still matters in the NHL. Of course, when skill far outstrips size you have to defer to skill (read: Josh Morrissey), but having a blueline where your top 4 is Morrissey, Pionk, Heinola and Niku presents a very real problem for a team that sees the likes of the Blues, the Wild, and the Preds so many times in a season.

You still need size on defense. You need guys who can use force to break up cycles, withstand punishment, and push back against physicality. It's not a outdated theory, it's very real and I'd love to see one NHL manager or coach that disagrees with it (or players for that matter).

I don’t necessarily disagree but my post was suggesting “IF” Huddy/Maurice share that theory then swap out Niku for Heinola and send Ville back to Finland. Sami has top 4 upside IMO but the only way to find out is play him all season. He is 23 it’s time to take the chance when our D core is decimated.

I am not a fan of big unskilled D men. Size without skill tends to lead to teams defending allot. then you need the size to defend the front of your net because you are there too much. I will give Chevy a pass for this predicament since he got sucker punched by his primary big body on D taking time to decide his future.

 

[Jet]

I don’t necessarily disagree but my post was suggesting “IF” Huddy/Maurice share that theory then swap out Niku for Heinola and send Ville back to Finland. Sami has top 4 upside IMO but the only way to find out is play him all season. He is 23 it’s time to take the chance when our D core is decimated.

I am not a fan of big unskilled D men. Size without skill tends to lead to teams defending allot. then you need the size to defend the front of your net because you are there too much. I will give Chevy a pass for this predicament since he got sucker punched by his primary big body on D taking time to decide his future.

I would counter that the D we have are doing a fine job down there and it's the forwards that are causing extra time defending in our zone.

You can't teach size, and like it or not the NHL still uses physicality to drive possession and momentum.

 

[Duke749]

I would counter that the D we have are doing a fine job down there and it's the forwards that are causing extra time defending in our zone.

You can't teach size, and like it or not the NHL still uses physicality to drive possession and momentum.

I think you’re severally overestimating the capabilities of our current D. Let’s wait and see what happens when we run into some teams with better depth. The biggest difference between us and teams like the Hawks and Pens are we have better depth up front. On the back end the teams aren’t all that dissimilar. We’re getting some good goaltending to cover up some mistakes but we’re moving way too slow down low both in skating and puck movement.

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

Anyone hear why Heinola didn't play last night?