Ville Heinola - an example of rushing a prospect and potential waiver option

[skilles]

I just don't think the sample size is big enough to even consider Jiricek turning pro.

[STL fan in MN]

Jiricek is more analogous to the Heinola situation. Flashes and setbacks, needs consistent development time before leveling up again.

Agreed. I'm hoping the Blues make the decision and send him back to JR. As good as he has looked, he's barely played the last two seasons.

Hopefully he gets 25 - 30 minutes a night, competes at the WJC and then joins Springfield for a playoff run or Czechia at the WC at the end of the year.

Isn't Brantford supposed to be pretty good this year? A long OHL playoff run would do him well, too

Yes, Brantford is the odds on pick to win the OHL this season. They’re pretty darn loaded.

In fact, lots of Blues prospects are on CHL teams projected to be good this season. The CHL released a pre-season ranking last week and here’s the top 6 teams. I’ll put Blues prospects in ().

1. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada - QMJHL (Carbonneau)
2. Brantford Bulldogs - OHL (Jiricek)
3. Spokane Chiefs - WHL (McIsaac)
4. Chicoutimi Sagueneens - QMJHL
5. Windsor Spitfires - OHL
6. Edmonton Oil Kings - WHL (Jecho)

https://x.com/chlhockey/status/1967982 ... 1K-FGmcAg

The only guy we have in the CHL not on a top team would be Lukas Fischer in Sarnia. Their lineup doesn’t look so great but he’s their captain again and should get top minutes. And assuming they stink, he’s very likely to get treated to a top OHL team at the trade deadline.

[a smell of green grass]

I just wish someone had told Army about this.

If he had known this, he would surely have not initiated a re-whatever using mid-round picks.

Who would solve an immediate 2024 season problem by bringing in young prospects in 2026?

What does this mean? And how does a player in Heinola, who isn't in the Blues organization, apply to the Blues?

Has there ever been a re-whatever that started and closed before a single re-whatever draftee made it to the NHL ice?

Army is definitely not rushing the re-whatever prospects. However, he surely rushed closing the re-whatever.

[zamadoo]

I just wish someone had told Army about this.

If he had known this, he would surely have not initiated a re-whatever using mid-round picks.

Who would solve an immediate 2024 season problem by bringing in young prospects in 2026?

What does this mean? And how does a player in Heinola, who isn't in the Blues organization, apply to the Blues?

Has there ever been a re-whatever that started and closed before a single re-whatever draftee made it to the NHL ice?

Army is definitely not rushing the re-whatever prospects. However, he surely rushed closing the re-whatever.

Jimmy Snuggerud was drafted in 2022, and the Blues finished 6th in the Central in the 2022-2023 season, trading away two star players, including their Captain. Dalibor Dvorsky was drafted in 2023. Both players are the Blues' top prospects and made it to the NHL ice in 2025 when the Blues made the playoffs, largely due to the acquisitions of 23 year olds Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, who combined for 92 points with both players at a +21. Acquiring these former #14 and #8 overall picks accelerated the path back to the playoffs and winning hockey, along with signing Jim Montgomery as Head Coach mid-season, who led the team to a 35-18-7 record with a .642 points percentage, including a Blues franchise record win streak.

[moose-and-squirrel]

Looks like the Jets just missed on this one. Vile has something like 155 AHL games now, seems like a long shot for him to make it anywhere but you never know what a change of scenery can accomplish. Im a hard pass on the Blues even considering this unless its for Springfield, shot in the dark

I doubt he’d ever make it to Springfield. We’d have to also put him on waivers if we wanted to send him there and the Jets could just reclaim him and send him to the Moose. Or he’d get claimed by someone else.

Like I said though, I haven’t seen enough of Heinola to be able to say definitely he’d be better than Kessel. But I could certainly see it as possible. Being better than Matt Kessel isn’t exactly a high bar unfortunately..

another smallish dman with a bad ankle.. pass

[STL fan in MN]

Looks like the Jets just missed on this one. Vile has something like 155 AHL games now, seems like a long shot for him to make it anywhere but you never know what a change of scenery can accomplish. Im a hard pass on the Blues even considering this unless its for Springfield, shot in the dark

I doubt he’d ever make it to Springfield. We’d have to also put him on waivers if we wanted to send him there and the Jets could just reclaim him and send him to the Moose. Or he’d get claimed by someone else.

Like I said though, I haven’t seen enough of Heinola to be able to say definitely he’d be better than Kessel. But I could certainly see it as possible. Being better than Matt Kessel isn’t exactly a high bar unfortunately..

another smallish dman with a bad ankle.. pass

You might be right. When I read the line on him being undersized, it was tied to him being 18.

He was an undersized, offensively gifted 18-year-old with limited English, raised on skid steers and frigid Finnish winters.

I didn’t think much of it as how many 18 yr olds aren’t undersized by NHL standards? Not many. But he’s still listed at 181 lbs on the Jets website today. That’s just way too light for 6’0” to be able to effectively play defense at the NHL level. 6’0” isn’t big but it’s fine. 180 lbs is not.

That right there is probably a good percentage of the reason why he hasn’t made it. I wonder if he just has such a slight frame that he simply can’t bulk up more or if he’s just not putting in the work. Being lanky like that is super common at 18-21 but he’s 24 now. He should’ve been able to bulk up by now.

[clemonsonroots]

I saw this article on Ville Heinola in the Athletic today. I don’t typically share Jets articles but it was an interesting piece.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/665547 ... d_article

At Jets camp, a prospect left behind tries to prove he belongs in the NHL

When Ville Heinola was drafted in the first round in 2019, he had no way of knowing how quickly the Winnipeg Jets’ defence corps would be torn apart. He was an undersized, offensively gifted 18-year-old with limited English, raised on skid steers and frigid Finnish winters. It seemed clear that he needed to get better at defending against big, strong, veteran pro players before he could make an NHL club.

Then, a series of free-agency departures, Dustin Byfuglien’s sudden retirement and a slew of injuries put Heinola in the Jets’ opening-night lineup. Three and a half months after getting drafted, he was an NHL player. In his fourth career game, he one-timed a Mark Scheifele centering feed past the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Murray for his first NHL goal.

“I was dreaming of that,” he said that night.

Six years later, Heinola’s dream come true in Pittsburgh is still the peak of his pro career. He was the first 2001-born player to score an NHL goal but still hasn’t scored his second one — or even played a full season in the league.

When COVID-19 hit, Winnipeg placed Heinola on its NHL “taxi squad” for much of 2020-21; it seemed like a great development opportunity, but over a month passed without him playing a game. The Jets acquired high-end veterans the year after that, relegating Heinola to a starring role in the minors.

Two seasons ago, it looked like Heinola had finally won another NHL job at training camp, but he broke his ankle in his final preseason game. This led to surgery, the installation of a screw in Heinola’s ankle, and a months-long rehabilitation process that limited him for the rest of the season. Last season, Heinola’s surgically repaired ankle became infected, necessitating a second surgery — and a second rehabilitation process along with it.

“I’m not going to lie,” Heinola says now. “I was in a dark place for a couple of months.”

Heinola is 24 years old now. Six years in North America have improved his English. He can articulate the pain he’s been through and the hope he feels now that his ankle has healed for the second time.

“Last year, it hit me hard when the injury happened. It was more tough for me mentally, going through it again and just knowing the rehab and knowing how long it takes,” he says. “Everything went well. The ankle feels great. It’s such a relief, and I just want to enjoy hockey now.”

But Heinola’s sliding-doors moment is now ancient history. Instead of the seas parting for him, with multiple departures and injuries creating a route straight to the NHL, Heinola is the forgotten defenceman at Jets camp. There are eight veterans ahead of him on Winnipeg’s depth chart — plus 21-year-old Elias Salomonsson replacing him as the Jets’ top defensive prospect — with a maximum of eight jobs available to win.

The article goes on from there but I won’t post the whole thing.

A couple thoughts. First is that this is a prime example of a prospect rushed to the NHL. Clearly he had skill but thrust into the NHL at age 18? He should’ve been in Jrs or back in Finland bouncing between their Jr and pro leagues for another year or two. This seemed to really stunt his development. It’s why I’d be hesitant to thrust someone like Carbonneau into the lineup yet this season. A winger has much less responsibility than a d-man but still, the NHL is the best league in the world and it’s why Army says that teams fail prospects more often than prospects fail teams. They’re rushed and/or not given the right development opportunities. I trust the Blues will do the right thing but just found this article to be a prime example of what can happen when you rush a player.

Another example IMO would be Zach Benson. I think he’s going to be a good NHLer for a long time but I think the Sabres very well could’ve stunted his offensive development by thrusting him into the NHL at age 18. The probably is you can never play out both scenarios to ever prove that right or wrong.

Secondly, Heinola seems like he’s very much on the outside looking in to make the Jets out of camp. I don’t know a ton about him but I could certainly see a scenario where he’s a better option than Kessel. He’d offer a different look than Tucker too if we’re playing an opponent where Tucker’s slow feet could be more likely to be exploited.

Just food for thought but it’s an interesting look into the world of hockey and the butterfly effects that sometimes make or break a young player’s career.

Whether it’s the Jets, Blues or some other team, hopefully Heinola can get a quality shot with a team this season and hopefully get his foot in the door and make it in this league.

Agree, except not everyone is created the same. Carbs is old for his draft class. He is built already and his game will translate more easily. I will raise you David Perron. Was Perron great his first year? No. But he was certainly ready to be in the league and it stunted no development. He reached his ceiling. I think Carbs is on that sort of trajectory and at worst it is just a 9 game trial.

[seattleblue]

Jiricek is more analogous to the Heinola situation. Flashes and setbacks, needs consistent development time before leveling up again.

What is "leveling up" mean? Like a video game? The tv show? Did you watch that?

Sounds like something you would watch.

So you're a recent troll account who's now gone after me four times in six days, but you purport to not understand how juniors, AHL, and NHL are different levels. You have a simpleton's grasp of geography too.

TROLL

The people who gave me hell for having a different philosophy about communicating with others here owe it to me to go after you because I am actually a better poster than deserving this from some coward who posts here. I will post less if what I experience is this dismal [shirt]

[STL fan in MN]

I saw this article on Ville Heinola in the Athletic today. I don’t typically share Jets articles but it was an interesting piece.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/665547 ... d_article

At Jets camp, a prospect left behind tries to prove he belongs in the NHL

When Ville Heinola was drafted in the first round in 2019, he had no way of knowing how quickly the Winnipeg Jets’ defence corps would be torn apart. He was an undersized, offensively gifted 18-year-old with limited English, raised on skid steers and frigid Finnish winters. It seemed clear that he needed to get better at defending against big, strong, veteran pro players before he could make an NHL club.

Then, a series of free-agency departures, Dustin Byfuglien’s sudden retirement and a slew of injuries put Heinola in the Jets’ opening-night lineup. Three and a half months after getting drafted, he was an NHL player. In his fourth career game, he one-timed a Mark Scheifele centering feed past the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Murray for his first NHL goal.

“I was dreaming of that,” he said that night.

Six years later, Heinola’s dream come true in Pittsburgh is still the peak of his pro career. He was the first 2001-born player to score an NHL goal but still hasn’t scored his second one — or even played a full season in the league.

When COVID-19 hit, Winnipeg placed Heinola on its NHL “taxi squad” for much of 2020-21; it seemed like a great development opportunity, but over a month passed without him playing a game. The Jets acquired high-end veterans the year after that, relegating Heinola to a starring role in the minors.

Two seasons ago, it looked like Heinola had finally won another NHL job at training camp, but he broke his ankle in his final preseason game. This led to surgery, the installation of a screw in Heinola’s ankle, and a months-long rehabilitation process that limited him for the rest of the season. Last season, Heinola’s surgically repaired ankle became infected, necessitating a second surgery — and a second rehabilitation process along with it.

“I’m not going to lie,” Heinola says now. “I was in a dark place for a couple of months.”

Heinola is 24 years old now. Six years in North America have improved his English. He can articulate the pain he’s been through and the hope he feels now that his ankle has healed for the second time.

“Last year, it hit me hard when the injury happened. It was more tough for me mentally, going through it again and just knowing the rehab and knowing how long it takes,” he says. “Everything went well. The ankle feels great. It’s such a relief, and I just want to enjoy hockey now.”

But Heinola’s sliding-doors moment is now ancient history. Instead of the seas parting for him, with multiple departures and injuries creating a route straight to the NHL, Heinola is the forgotten defenceman at Jets camp. There are eight veterans ahead of him on Winnipeg’s depth chart — plus 21-year-old Elias Salomonsson replacing him as the Jets’ top defensive prospect — with a maximum of eight jobs available to win.

The article goes on from there but I won’t post the whole thing.

A couple thoughts. First is that this is a prime example of a prospect rushed to the NHL. Clearly he had skill but thrust into the NHL at age 18? He should’ve been in Jrs or back in Finland bouncing between their Jr and pro leagues for another year or two. This seemed to really stunt his development. It’s why I’d be hesitant to thrust someone like Carbonneau into the lineup yet this season. A winger has much less responsibility than a d-man but still, the NHL is the best league in the world and it’s why Army says that teams fail prospects more often than prospects fail teams. They’re rushed and/or not given the right development opportunities. I trust the Blues will do the right thing but just found this article to be a prime example of what can happen when you rush a player.

Another example IMO would be Zach Benson. I think he’s going to be a good NHLer for a long time but I think the Sabres very well could’ve stunted his offensive development by thrusting him into the NHL at age 18. The probably is you can never play out both scenarios to ever prove that right or wrong.

Secondly, Heinola seems like he’s very much on the outside looking in to make the Jets out of camp. I don’t know a ton about him but I could certainly see a scenario where he’s a better option than Kessel. He’d offer a different look than Tucker too if we’re playing an opponent where Tucker’s slow feet could be more likely to be exploited.

Just food for thought but it’s an interesting look into the world of hockey and the butterfly effects that sometimes make or break a young player’s career.

Whether it’s the Jets, Blues or some other team, hopefully Heinola can get a quality shot with a team this season and hopefully get his foot in the door and make it in this league.

Agree, except not everyone is created the same. Carbs is old for his draft class. He is built already and his game will translate more easily. I will raise you David Perron. Was Perron great his first year? No. But he was certainly ready to be in the league and it stunted no development. He reached his ceiling. I think Carbs is on that sort of trajectory and at worst it is just a 9 game trial.

While true, Perron’s situation is quite rare. I’ll also note Perron went undrafted his first year of eligibility and was thus a year older than almost all most recent draftees. I’ll also note that again, we can’t play out both scenarios. How can we 100% definitively say he fully reached his potential? Maybe he would’ve been even better at his peak had he not been rushed. I would tend to agree with you that he probably more or less reached his ceiling regardless but simply pointing out we can’t say that definitively. And that his case is quite rare.

I don’t think it’d hurt Carbo to get a 9 game trial but I still doubt it happens. There’s just no need for it. The Blues team Perron was trying to make was garbage. The finished last in the Central and ended up picking 4th overall that summer (Petro). Carbo is trying to make a much deeper team with higher expectations. I just don’t see it happening. To keep him on the roster, even for only 9 games, it’d require the Blues to expose quality players to waivers that they’d almost assuredly want to keep for once Carbo was sent back to Jrs.

Carbo is having a good camp. I really like his future here. But he’s not ready, we don’t need him yet and it’d force the team to make questionable roster moves to keep him. For all of those reasons, I seriously doubt they keep him.

[Cahokanut]

I don't see a connection to him being "rushed"

A bunch of injuries and a retirement had him in the opening night roster..
Not management putting on a rush.

[seattleblue]

To keep him on the roster, even for only 9 games, it’d require the Blues to expose quality players to waivers that they’d almost assuredly want to keep for once Carbo was sent back to Jrs.

100%

[George Zipp]

Jiricek is more analogous to the Heinola situation. Flashes and setbacks, needs consistent development time before leveling up again.

What is "leveling up" mean? Like a video game? The tv show? Did you watch that?

Sounds like something you would watch.

So you're a recent troll account who's now gone after me four times in six days, but you purport to not understand how juniors, AHL, and NHL are different levels. You have a simpleton's grasp of geography too.

TROLL

The people who gave me hell for having a different philosophy about communicating with others here owe it to me to go after you because I am actually a better poster than deserving this from some coward who posts here. I will post less if what I experience is this dismal [shirt]

Doubt it’s a recent troll. Pretty convinced it’s rollin. Same posting style. Same tone. Same stupid emojis. Stalking. Classic rollin.

[STL fan in MN]

I don't see a connection to him being "rushed"

A bunch of injuries and a retirement had him in the opening night roster..
Not management putting on a rush.

Why in the world would the precise circumstances matter? They should’ve gone out and gotten someone else and not rushed their 18 yr old skinny d-man! They did him a disservice.

“He wasn’t rushed because these circumstances forced them to rush him.” Huh?!

The circumstances don’t change the result - he was rushed and it almost certainly killed his longterm development.

[Mr.Snuggleupagus]

Jiricek is more analogous to the Heinola situation. Flashes and setbacks, needs consistent development time before leveling up again.

What is "leveling up" mean? Like a video game? The tv show? Did you watch that?

Sounds like something you would watch.

So you're a recent troll account who's now gone after me four times in six days, but you purport to not understand how juniors, AHL, and NHL are different levels. You have a simpleton's grasp of geography too.

TROLL

The people who gave me hell for having a different philosophy about communicating with others here owe it to me to go after you because I am actually a better poster than deserving this from some coward who posts here. I will post less if what I experience is this dismal [shirt]

You are very immature for a 55 year old.

[seattleblue]

Jiricek is more analogous to the Heinola situation. Flashes and setbacks, needs consistent development time before leveling up again.

What is "leveling up" mean? Like a video game? The tv show? Did you watch that?

Sounds like something you would watch.

So you're a recent troll account who's now gone after me four times in six days, but you purport to not understand how juniors, AHL, and NHL are different levels. You have a simpleton's grasp of geography too.

TROLL

The people who gave me hell for having a different philosophy about communicating with others here owe it to me to go after you because I am actually a better poster than deserving this from some coward who posts here. I will post less if what I experience is this dismal [shirt]

You are very immature for a 55 year old.

I’m not even that old! Have a good season buddy. You’re just rollin. That’s all. Got it. Forgot for a minute the troll signature.because honestly I think about blues topics and you’re just not a big part of that universe. But enjoy being miserable I’ll decline

[Wattage]

I saw this article on Ville Heinola in the Athletic today. I don’t typically share Jets articles but it was an interesting piece.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/665547 ... d_article

At Jets camp, a prospect left behind tries to prove he belongs in the NHL

When Ville Heinola was drafted in the first round in 2019, he had no way of knowing how quickly the Winnipeg Jets’ defence corps would be torn apart. He was an undersized, offensively gifted 18-year-old with limited English, raised on skid steers and frigid Finnish winters. It seemed clear that he needed to get better at defending against big, strong, veteran pro players before he could make an NHL club.

Then, a series of free-agency departures, Dustin Byfuglien’s sudden retirement and a slew of injuries put Heinola in the Jets’ opening-night lineup. Three and a half months after getting drafted, he was an NHL player. In his fourth career game, he one-timed a Mark Scheifele centering feed past the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Murray for his first NHL goal.

“I was dreaming of that,” he said that night.

Six years later, Heinola’s dream come true in Pittsburgh is still the peak of his pro career. He was the first 2001-born player to score an NHL goal but still hasn’t scored his second one — or even played a full season in the league.

When COVID-19 hit, Winnipeg placed Heinola on its NHL “taxi squad” for much of 2020-21; it seemed like a great development opportunity, but over a month passed without him playing a game. The Jets acquired high-end veterans the year after that, relegating Heinola to a starring role in the minors.

Two seasons ago, it looked like Heinola had finally won another NHL job at training camp, but he broke his ankle in his final preseason game. This led to surgery, the installation of a screw in Heinola’s ankle, and a months-long rehabilitation process that limited him for the rest of the season. Last season, Heinola’s surgically repaired ankle became infected, necessitating a second surgery — and a second rehabilitation process along with it.

“I’m not going to lie,” Heinola says now. “I was in a dark place for a couple of months.”

Heinola is 24 years old now. Six years in North America have improved his English. He can articulate the pain he’s been through and the hope he feels now that his ankle has healed for the second time.

“Last year, it hit me hard when the injury happened. It was more tough for me mentally, going through it again and just knowing the rehab and knowing how long it takes,” he says. “Everything went well. The ankle feels great. It’s such a relief, and I just want to enjoy hockey now.”

But Heinola’s sliding-doors moment is now ancient history. Instead of the seas parting for him, with multiple departures and injuries creating a route straight to the NHL, Heinola is the forgotten defenceman at Jets camp. There are eight veterans ahead of him on Winnipeg’s depth chart — plus 21-year-old Elias Salomonsson replacing him as the Jets’ top defensive prospect — with a maximum of eight jobs available to win.

The article goes on from there but I won’t post the whole thing.

A couple thoughts. First is that this is a prime example of a prospect rushed to the NHL. Clearly he had skill but thrust into the NHL at age 18? He should’ve been in Jrs or back in Finland bouncing between their Jr and pro leagues for another year or two. This seemed to really stunt his development. It’s why I’d be hesitant to thrust someone like Carbonneau into the lineup yet this season. A winger has much less responsibility than a d-man but still, the NHL is the best league in the world and it’s why Army says that teams fail prospects more often than prospects fail teams. They’re rushed and/or not given the right development opportunities. I trust the Blues will do the right thing but just found this article to be a prime example of what can happen when you rush a player.

Another example IMO would be Zach Benson. I think he’s going to be a good NHLer for a long time but I think the Sabres very well could’ve stunted his offensive development by thrusting him into the NHL at age 18. The probably is you can never play out both scenarios to ever prove that right or wrong.

Secondly, Heinola seems like he’s very much on the outside looking in to make the Jets out of camp. I don’t know a ton about him but I could certainly see a scenario where he’s a better option than Kessel. He’d offer a different look than Tucker too if we’re playing an opponent where Tucker’s slow feet could be more likely to be exploited.

Just food for thought but it’s an interesting look into the world of hockey and the butterfly effects that sometimes make or break a young player’s career.

Whether it’s the Jets, Blues or some other team, hopefully Heinola can get a quality shot with a team this season and hopefully get his foot in the door and make it in this league.

what does rushing him to the majors at 18 ha e to do with the fact that he broke his ankle in a final oreseason game and them after his surgery it got infected effectively sidelining him for 2 years. seems like ge would have been fine and in nhl again if that hadnt happened and that had absolutely nothing to do with him being rusbed in at 18.

i will say bringing him up to sit on covid taxi squad and never play wasnt the best use of him. that honestly was worse than rushing him to majors. he needed games. not to just sit. but anyways the ankle thing was just bad luck. not cuz he was rushed