(That’s also a great celly. After he adds some power to his slap shot, that’s another tool he can utilize. So whoever drafts him shouldn’t expect him to jump straight to the NHL from the draft.Defensively, Heinola has shown great ability in rush defense and defensive zone coverage.
Of course early in the season, when you get to play, you want to play a bigger role, and then you just have to play well enough to earn that role.Heinola was truly introduced to North American fans in this tournament, although his performance there wasn’t as impressive as his play in the Finnish Liiga during that time. He also averaged almost 21 minutes of ice time per game during that time.I asked if he could have imagined last summer that he’s now playing 20 minutes per game at the Liiga level on a playoff team.But the biggest thing Heinola has going for him is his hockey smarts. He makes great decisions with and without the puck. Two-month periods work perfectly in this case because he played 12, 11 and 11 games during them.Then came November and December, and this is when Heinola truly started to shine. Because of these talents, he can move the puck and also skate it up the ice himself. Perhaps he was nervous or needed to adjust to the smaller rink size but some of the games were subpar by Heinola’s standards.
He understands when to pinch in and when to hold back. Complete player biography and stats. He doesn’t deliver crushing hits but he’s very effective because of his positioning and active stick. His average ice time for the season was 18:54 per game with 3:05 of that coming on the power play and 1:19 on the penalty kill.I think the best way to show Heinola’s progress is this graph where his Liiga season is split into two-month periods, and it shows his points-per-game average during those periods. But I guess that just shows how high the standards are with him.– We’ve been playing well as a team, and I’ve also had success personally, and that leads to more success, so that’s probably it.– We have a good training group in the summer. He has a good wrist shot and great passing skills. He makes smart reads but doesn’t forget his defensive responsibilities.
Decent start to a season but probably didn’t raise many eyebrows at the time. His edge work is amazing. And he doesn’t require a lot of time with his release.Heinola doesn’t have blazing top speed but he’s a smooth skater.
Scouting Report.
He thinks the game at a high level and seems to be one step ahead of the opposition. He’s also capable of making excellent no-look passes because of his great awareness.