Player Discussion: Ville Heinola

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Jet

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Looks like he's not quite ready for Liiga at this point in time. They should send him back down to NHL.

No but seriously, his confidence must be crushed because he played well in NHL but got punished instead of rewarded for it. Should have just played in NHL.
punished :laugh:

You slay me. He got sent down for very sensible reasons that still exist. The guy isn't 6 foot and is less than 180 lbs. The hurt was going to come down on Ville and you could even see in his last couple of games with the Jets he looked tired.

Someone of that size, used to playing <50 games a year playing against big, fast, physical forwards was going to lead to injury, or at the least loss of confidence when he got wore down, and that would have really hurt his development.

Despite Heinola's current struggles, this was the correct move for both player and organization.
 

KingBogo

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punished :laugh:

You slay me. He got sent down for very sensible reasons that still exist. The guy isn't 6 foot and is less than 180 lbs. The hurt was going to come down on Ville and you could even see in his last couple of games with the Jets he looked tired.

Someone of that size, used to playing <50 games a year playing against big, fast, physical forwards was going to lead to injury, or at the least loss of confidence when he got wore down, and that would have really hurt his development.

Despite Heinola's current struggles, this was the correct move for both player and organization.
I think everyone pretty much knew Ville would eventually be sent down. For many of the reasons you mentioned, and no use burning an ELC year to watch it happen. The only way it would have made sense for him to stay with the Jets was to use him as a part time player with very selective load management. Of course there would be the inevitable "why is that idiot Mo benching him" uproar on nights he was rested :laugh:
 

ijuka

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May 14, 2016
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punished :laugh:

You slay me. He got sent down for very sensible reasons that still exist.
The "very sensible reasons" were that his coach kept benching him even though he was one of the better defensemen on the team. Yes, those reasons still exist indeed. Maurice still hasn't been fired. I called for it over 3 years ago.

The worst thing is that they didn't allow him to take part in the unique outdoor game, which he still could have done while maintaining his ELC slide. I imagine that wounded his vulnerable teenager soul deeply. How can you not grant him that experience?
 

KingBogo

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The "very sensible reasons" were that his coach kept benching him even though he was one of the better defensemen on the team. Yes, those reasons still exist indeed. Maurice still hasn't been fired. I called for it over 3 years ago.

The worst thing is that they didn't allow him to take part in the unique outdoor game, which he still could have done while maintaining his ELC slide. I imagine that wounded his vulnerable teenager soul deeply. How can you not grant him that experience?
I hope Ville isn't nearly as fragile as you make him out to be. The kid will need to be handle disappointments far greater than this in his career.
 

FinPanda

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I see this mostly a mental thing. Not that he is a fragile kid, just a kid who was disappointed about going back to Finland. He'll bounce back during the second half of the season, I am quite sure. The more time goes on and if he has a good WJC, he'll be just like he was last season. Getting the NHL taste and then sent back and learning the big ice game all over again, I would imagine that with combined the fact of he being 18 and was disappointed, it takes some time. He'll get over it.
 
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JetsUK

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I see this mostly a mental thing. Not that he is a fragile kid, just kid who was disappointed about going back to Finland. He'll bounce back during the second half of the season, I am quite sure. The more time goes on and if he has a good WJC, he'll be just like he was last season. Getting the NHL taste and then sent back and learning the big ice game all over again, I would imagine that with combined the fact of he being 18 and was disappointed, it takes some time. He'll get over it.

I agree. We've seen this happen with a few prospects who got sent back/down and had a brief rough patch as they adjusted to the old/new regime and the disappointment, before coming roaring back to burn a few villages en route to the NHL.
 

Garbox

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Feb 27, 2016
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Latest comment about his play from a Lukko fan on Jatkoaika.com:

His hands and movement are fine, but he looks like your basic Dman instead of a great prospect. He loses the puck, loses puck battles and makes junior mistakes. Great solo plays and smart passes haven't really been there as much and his game looks like he's in a rush all the time.

He was probably told that he needs to work on his D.

I thought the same as 10Ducky10. I hipe they didn't mess with his head too much so that now he thinks he must become a stay-at-home D-man. But if that Kaako Kappo's quote is on point, it makes me think that Heinola is thinking too much right now and not playong with his (incredibly good) instincts.
 

nobody imp0rtant

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May 23, 2018
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I see this mostly a mental thing. Not that he is a fragile kid, just a kid who was disappointed about going back to Finland. He'll bounce back during the second half of the season, I am quite sure. The more time goes on and if he has a good WJC, he'll be just like he was last season. Getting the NHL taste and then sent back and learning the big ice game all over again, I would imagine that with combined the fact of he being 18 and was disappointed, it takes some time. He'll get over it.

Well, that was his choice to go back to Finland, wasn't it? I can't see the Jets saying, we don't want you on the Moose where you could be just an injury call-up away from being back in the NHL.
 

10Ducky10

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I think that if the Jets had their way, he would be playing for Moose.
 

Pyy83

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Jan 12, 2012
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Seems like it was too small sample of games in Jets, he has been brutally terrible at Lukko
 

Pyy83

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Jan 12, 2012
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And unqualified opinions are a surplus commodity. I'm not going to fret about Heinola's play based on a few fan comments.
Finnish hfboards "jatkoaika.com" Lukko-forum is quite full of comments of how terrible his play has been if it helps to add the amounts of comments from few to several or few to more significant. Im not trying to bash the guy but the truth is that he has been terrible, losing 1v1 battles, making rookie mistakes, pretty much all of it. The stats in this case back it up, 10 games in Lukko 0+0. Maybe he'll bounce back or something
 

KingBogo

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I'm assuming the kid will be playing in the WJC. Might be perfect timing to play against his peer group and get his game back on track. I wonder then is it possible to get him back on the Moose so a strong start to his season doesn't get derailed.
 

scelaton

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Jul 5, 2012
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I'm assuming the kid will be playing in the WJC. Might be perfect timing to play against his peer group and get his game back on track. I wonder then is it possible to get him back on the Moose so a strong start to his season doesn't get derailed.

I'd much rather he work on his game closer to his home. The kid is only 18 after all, and Finland is a much safer environment--in every respect-- for him to grow and develop as a player.

We need to be patient with Ville--he is not as close to the NHL as some people think.
 

ps241

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I see this mostly a mental thing. Not that he is a fragile kid, just a kid who was disappointed about going back to Finland. He'll bounce back during the second half of the season, I am quite sure. The more time goes on and if he has a good WJC, he'll be just like he was last season. Getting the NHL taste and then sent back and learning the big ice game all over again, I would imagine that with combined the fact of he being 18 and was disappointed, it takes some time. He'll get over it.

We have seen this movie before with Scheifele, Morrissey, and Connor (to the AHL) etc etc. all of these guys had spurts where they looked ready but still got sent back to a lesser league. In most cases they took a step back initially due to the disappointment. These guys are all mentally tough enough to bounce back. I love Ville but I was an advocate of sending him back this year and possibly next season to physically mature. He is going to be a beauty and has the skill to play now in a pinch but I don’t think that is optimal for his development.

Every prospect is different but one example is Morrissey was awesome but still didn’t play until his draft +4 season and I think TNSE drew the button on his development plan.
 
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FinPanda

Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
Mar 13, 2014
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Odotusarvot ja realismi eivät usein kohtaa, kun nuori pelaaja palaa Suomeen hakemaan lisää vastuuta lyhyen NHL-keikan jälkeen.
– Henkisesti on ollut vaikeinta. Kun NHL:stä palaa Suomeen, niin ylipäätään kaikki muuttuu. Pelityyli on ihan eri ja peliä pitää pelata eri tavalla. Tietenkin myös ympäristö muuttuu. Siinä on ollut paljon käsiteltävää itselleni ja miten suhtaudun asioihin, kuvaili Heinola.
– Uskon, että ajan kanssa tästä tulee vielä hyvä. Pitää vain mennä päivä kerrallaan, että pääsee paremmin mukaan.

Expectations and realism doesn't often connect when young players comes back to Finland to get more responsibility after a short NHL trip
- Its been mostly hard mentally. When I returned from NHL to Finland, everything changes overall. Style to play is totally different and you need to play differently. Or course the environment is different too. It has been a lot of things to deal with for me and how to react to things, said Heinola.
- I believe it will all get better on time. I just need to keep going one day at a time.


Lukon ja Nuorten Leijonien Ville Heinolan kausi on todellinen harvinaisuus – enemmän tehopisteitä NHL:ssä kuin SM-liigassa!

So just about what I expected.
 

Neuf

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Should have flown his mom out here and played in the A
 

FonRiesen

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When I hear "rushing plays", I wonder if he had properly adjusted to NHL speed and is trying to apply that speed of decision-making to a slower league to 'stay sharp' and it doesn't translate well? I haven't seen him play since the Jets so this is just speculation.
 

Bob E

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Aug 20, 2011
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Seems to be playing well against his peers at the WJCs. Kid will be fine, but he can get knocked off the puck rather easily, even against his peers. Will need to develop more core strength to compete against men.

He won’t ever be a bruiser, and that’s fine, but he needs to contain better down low. He’ll learn to ‘Toby Enstrom’ defenders, contain them positionally, and then once you strip the puck, move it quickly and effectively.
 
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