The Jets hope one or both first-round picks can cement themselves as everyday third-pairing defencemen They are willing to endure growing pains to find out whether Stanley But both players struggled as Winnipeg coughed up two third-period leads Thursday. Heinola was benched; Stanley was on the ice for both Vegas Golden Knights goals and contributed directly to one of them even as the Jets try to remain patient about each defenceman in a macro sense Jets fans are losing patience — some with Heinola It’s been eight years since Winnipeg traded up to take Stanley in the 2016 draft and five years since Heinola was taken with the first-round pick Winnipeg got back, in part, for Jacob Trouba I don’t think the Jets feel like they know what they have — even if it can be argued they should know by now particularly with the 26-year-old Stanley — but they’re trying to stay patient with both players offensively inclined Heinola on his offhand side alongside the bigger occasionally physical Stanley on Winnipeg’s third pairing they’ve earned only 46 percent of shots with Heinola and Stanley together now The Jets have a longer track record of Stanley’s struggles — both in previous seasons and before Heinola’s return to health this season — but no analysis of Thursday’s game should include a declaration of Heinola’s excellence versus Stanley’s struggles “Ville got stuck in our end a few times and we were kind of looking at five (defencemen),” Arniel said Friday “We had a one-goal lead and we were just trying to stay over top of that.” You have to squint a bit to make the logic hold Connor might have done more to battle for that puck once it came to him; Stanley might have seen Theodore there and chosen a different play Keegan Kolesar pots a hometown goal to get the Knights on the board in the third period. pic.twitter.com/cjxZ4l5pIy — Golden Knights Radio (@VGKRadioNetwork) December 13, 2024 In the immediate context of Thursday’s game Heinola was caught in his own zone for long shifts as Arniel said — with and without Stanley — and it was not a good game from him Stanley was caught in his own zone for long shifts and I didn’t think he had a particularly strong night Hindsight makes this even easier: If Winnipeg wanted to protect its one-goal lead perhaps sitting both members of its third pair was the play Arniel has asked him to be more of a pest this season and he’s tried to answer that bell My own opinion of Stanley’s Gilbert fight is quite cynical; Stanley and Heinola had been torched for a three-on-two goal nine seconds before the tilt Dylan Cozens from Zach Benson 🙌#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/tvSvq8cc0l — Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 6, 2024 Stanley was slow to react to the Sabres’ rush and didn’t take away Dylan Cozens’ stick in front of Winnipeg’s net Whether it was done with this intention or not Stanley’s fight immediately drew attention to an attribute he has that most Jets defencemen don’t his physicality and his role on the PK made him the coach’s choice The long-term lens is probably the most important, given that I view Stanley and Heinola as a project at this point in their career. Stanley is 26; I’m more inclined to believe he is what he is — closer to Nathan Beaulieu in on-ice impact than Jamie Oleksiak an age associated with more continued development but has delivered similarly replacement-level results through his first seven games this season (It should be noted their impact is difficult to separate and Heinola is playing on his offhand side.) If either player is going to break through their current bottom pair ceiling, it’s Heinola, even as early returns don’t look promising. The Jets’ long-term history makes his Thursday night benching — and Stanley’s continued minutes — worse than it is, though. Heinola’s NHL debut on an awful 2019-20 team as an 18-year-old created unrealistic expectations The Jets’ awkward development of him during the 2020-21 season at one point keeping him out of NHL or AHL action for over a month Given that the Jets traded up to draft Stanley in the first place it seems as though some of his extra opportunity could be perceived as chasing a sunk cost The reality is that neither defenceman achieved results that imply a long-term It’s easy to lose track of Heinola’s recent history when thinking about his long-term lack of NHL minutes with the Jets Heinola’s ankle injury last year (and ensuing infection this year) has stopped the small young defenceman from taking a big step forward He missed all of training camp and the first six weeks of the regular season recovering from his ankle infection — this after playing the entirety of his post-surgery 2023-24 season in the AHL I don’t think it’s reasonable or realistic to expect instant excellence from any player in that position and the Jets have not received that excellence I’m sticking to my cautious long-term approach from before Heinola’s AHL conditioning stint Arniel has given him and Stanley more opportunity than either has received in recent seasons whether calling himself Heinola’s “biggest fan” or saying he needs Stanley in the lineup playing Stanley in all eight available games since his return from a “mid-body” injury suffered Nov Heinola is Winnipeg’s best bet to get a helpful everyday defenceman from that latter group He’d probably be in a better position to succeed playing alongside the more veteran Miller on Winnipeg’s third pair than skating on his offhand side with Stanley The sit-down doesn’t change Heinola’s trajectory and might even be of service trying to establish position to box out bigger forwards well in advance of a shot and he has NHL-quality offensive instincts I just can’t look at the AHL season he had last year or the time he’s missed now and get worked up about his minutes at this stage of the season Winnipeg is trying to be patient with both players to learn more about them now than previous regimes did in past seasons It should have close to all of the information it needs about its 6-foot-7 Heinola isn’t a known quantity yet — and it’s not reasonable to expect him to be this soon after missing so much time to start the first full-time NHL season of his career (Top photos of Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola: Leila Devlin and Ronald Martinez / Getty Images) the depth on the left side of the Winnipeg Jets defence is getting tested who was supposed to play in Wednesday’s preseason tilt with the Edmonton Oilers was a late scratch and didn’t participate in Thursday’s practice We’re going to get a little more of a look at him,” said head coach Scott Arniel “He won’t be available to us for the next few days here Arniel did admit that there is fear that Stanley’s injury could be more long-term but the tests Stanley will undergo over the next couple days will be a better indicator of the path forward his timeline is just as murky as Stanley’s Heinola had surgery on his ankle – the same one where an infection was found just a couple days into training camp last week – and is out a minimum of four weeks so I’m not 100 percent sure how long it will take,” said Arniel “It will depend on there being no swelling or infection who played 20:59 in the 6-1 win over Edmonton on Wednesday didn’t participate in the on-ice sessions on Thursday The news is far better in his case than it was for Stanley or Heinola “That was more maintenance after last night He got a little bit of a bump from last night,” Arniel said He’s not hurt enough that he’s going into tomorrow’s game not 100 percent.” The next preseason game on the schedule goes Friday in Minnesota While every preseason game is an opportunity for players trying to make an impression the injuries on the team’s back end mean there could be an added emphasis on that particular contest now it’s another opportunity for those guys to step up,” Arniel said adding Elias Salomonsson to that list as well who played 13:29 against Minnesota as the replacement for Stanley was also commended for his efforts by Arniel “He found out five minutes before warm-up that he was going in and did a fantastic job,” he said and those guys are doing a great job of taking advantage of it.” It’s been almost a week since Morgan Barron made his preseason debut against the Minnesota Wild on September 21 but since then it’s been all practice sessions for the 25-year-old “I’m sure I’ll be getting in one soon again and get another opportunity to ramp up toward the season,” said Barron “I think as we inch toward the start of the regular season the systems start to come into play a little bit more the line-up morphs into what it will look like for game one of the regular season.” NS product is looking to build on his 2023-24 campaign which saw him set a career high with 11 goals It was the first time he’s hit double-digits in that category His average ice time per-game (10:30) was a shade under three minutes less than the previous season (13:15) but he still had the third-most shorthanded ice time per-game on the team (among forwards) at 1:26 He’s always been reliable - even taking face-offs when called upon - but like any player there were times last year where I did that and there were times where I didn’t It needs to be consistent,” he said after Thursday’s one-hour skate If I keep playing my game the way that I know I can But you definitely have to manage your timeline and when you’re going to get there You’ve got to go out there and prove it to the coaches.” It all starts on October 9 against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place Barron knows there is more work to do in training camp before that day arrives but that doesn’t mean the group isn’t getting antsy for it to arrive “This is kind of the point where camp just kind of drags out and you just want to get going and compete against other teams,” Barron said WINNIPEG — For a split second back in November, it felt like Ville Heinola might actually get some leash. The 23-year-old had recovered from a training camp ankle injury — his second in as many years — and Scott Arniel made it seem like Heinola was very much part of the team’s plans. “It’s been a tough two years for him. I’m probably his biggest fan here. I wanna see him,” Arniel said after the Winnipeg Jets’ Nov Arniel’s endorsement came four days before Dylan Samberg broke his foot you’d think he’d get a Grade-A opportunity to prove his worth as it’s been the case throughout the 2019 first-round pick's time in Winnipeg he received sub-optimal deployment throughout his audition. 32 Thoughts: The PodcastHockey fans already know the name 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world Initially, Heinola was paired with Colin Miller on the third pair Heinola fared relatively well in his first two games of the season — against two heavy opponents in Minnesota and Los Angeles — and it wasn’t just his puck skills that shined with the young Finn making several key defensive stops. “There were a lot of things I liked,” Arniel told reporters after Heinola’s season debut against the Wild the left-shot blue-liner spent seven of the remaining 12 games of Samberg’s absence playing on the right side alongside Logan Stanley That pairing jived as poorly as you’d expect as they struggled to clear pucks out of the zone were continuously hemmed in for prolonged periods and displayed zero chemistry. But you can’t discount the argument that Heinola wasn’t put in a position to succeed the whole “give Ville an opportunity” narrative could be a thing of the past soon. who has recorded just one point in 16 games this year has been a healthy scratch in all but two of the team’s last 13 games Winnipeg’s coaching staff has not-so-subtly appointed Stanley as their fifth defenceman and given that this team could very well add another blue liner before the deadline — there’s really no path for Heinola to play meaningful games this year it’s not practical to keep him around. it’s time for Winnipeg to wave the white flag on this once-prized prospect Heinola’s development strikes a chord with a lot of fans. the pro-Heinola folk don’t bang the drum for the player he is now Or what he could have been if things were handled differently And it’s easy to understand the frustration We’re talking about a player who cracked the Jets' opening night roster as an 18-year-old — registering one goal and five points in eight games — and became an elite AHL talent Which is why his lack of opportunity at the NHL level has left a sour taste in many people's mouths You could argue Stanley has received the opportunity he has because of what the Jets hope he can do we all know why Stanley is a lineup regular — he adds size to one of the NHL’s smallest blue lines Even the most loyal Heinola truthers couldn’t argue that the player he is today would add value to a playoff lineup The Fan Hockey ShowSportsnet's Matt Marchese and former Los Angeles Kings executive Mike Futa take you around the league on Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s national hockey show airing live across the country daily from noon-2 p.m Haydn Fleury is almost certainly ahead of him in the pecking order if there’s an injury and if Winnipeg adds a body (or several) ahead of the deadline they’re going to have to subtract someone from their roster anyway Heinola is no longer waiver-exempt and while moving him would impact the team’s depth — Dylan Coghlan and Isaak Phillips are more than serviceable as eighth or ninth (or 10th) defencemen options One could argue that he’s still on the young-ish side and with a year remaining on his $850,000 deal perhaps he could provide surplus value next year What’s going to change from this year to next year in terms of the archetype Winnipeg wants on their bottom pair? There’s certainly a sunk-cost fallacy element here is a hard pill to swallow for an organization that prides itself on drafting and developing its talent And considering Scott Perunovich — who has played double the amount of NHL career games as Heinola (52) and has been an NHL regular over the last two years — just went for a conditional fifth-round pick, it’s hard to foresee the Jets netting better draft capital than that. But in a year where the Jets are expected to wheel and deal by offloading lots of future picks, recouping any bit of draft capital is a positive. After all, it may not be long before Heinola has zero trade value altogether. Jets having fun soaring to new heights on special teamsWhy the Jets need to go all-in, and what that could look likeCOMMENTS When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines Should you violate our submissions guidelines we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time The 2024 Heinola Open is a DGPT Europe Silver Event taking place June 7th – June 9th at the Kippasuo DiscGolfPark World disc golf course in Heinola The Heinola Open is a traditional disc golf event which has been held over 20 times after the first one in late 90’s The size and the shape of the Heinola Open has changed during these years but now we will see the biggest Heinola Open which has ever been Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) Europe is an exciting new development for the sport, forged through the merger of the European Pro Tour (EPT) and the DGPT under a collaborative agreement. 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We create and curate the world’s grandest stages at premier venues for the world’s best disc golfers in order to transmit the story of professional disc golf as an engaging high-quality experience that inspires and grows fans of the sport on-site and online DGPT is a registered trademark of Disc Golf Pro Tour This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Pro Hockey Rumors November 24, 2024 at 5:42 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment setting him up to make his season debut after starting the year on the season-open non-roster list Heinola had surgery on his ankle in September Samberg has served a top role for Winnipeg all season long, recording six points through 21 games while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. He’s once again serving next to Neal Pionk the same role that Samberg recorded a career-high 31 points in last season He’s dug his feet in as yet another evergreen defensive-defenseman in the Jets lineup That role was stamped this summer when the Jets signed Samberg to a four-year He’s recorded 83 points across 316 games with Winnipeg bringing his career totals to 147 points in 575 games Heinola will offer a quick substitute for Samberg returning to the NHL after scoring one assist in two games on his AHL conditioning stint Heinola spent all of the 2023-24 campaign in the minors scoring 27 points in 41 games with the Manitoba Moose He’s yet to vindicate a 20th-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft despite being in North American pros since 2019-20 recording five points in his first eight games with the Jets – but failed to maintain that scoring through injury and moves to the AHL and a return to Finland’s Liiga during the COVID-19 season of 2020-21 Heinola played in five NHL games at the tail-end of that year going without any scoring – even despite 11 points in 19 AHL games He’s since bounced between Winnipeg and Manitoba intercut by routine trips to injured reserve Heinola has totaled 11 points in 35 career NHL games and a much-more productive 103 points in 154 AHL games Register Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League Register You could never accuse the Winnipeg Jets of rushing Ville Heinola into their lineup Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience Article contentBut five years after making the Finnish defenceman a first-round draft pick that’s exactly what the Jets will do Monday night in Minnesota Heinola finished a two-game conditioning stint with the AHL Manitoba Moose on Saturday joined the Jets on the road a day later and will suit up against the Wild on Monday The reason for the delayed rush job: the broken foot suffered by Dylan Samberg in Saturday’s loss in Nashville “It’s been a long ride for him,” head coach Scott Arniel said of Heinola “With him pretty much making our team two years ago and having the injury and it’s unfortunate what happened in training camp… that’s why we said to him that he’s waited long enough “We wanted to get him a couple of quick games down with the Moose Heinola was all set to grab an NHL job last year but a fractured ankle ended that notion in a snap By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc The next issue of The Winnipeg Sun's Daily Headline News will soon be in your inbox Interested in more newsletters? When he came back months later, all that was left for him was another half season with the Moose. At training camp this year, that same ankle got infected and Heinola went under the knife again, doctors removing a pin from the foot and one quarter of the NHL season from his unfortunate grasp. “It’s been a long journey for me, for sure,” Heinola told reporters on scene in the Twin Cities after Monday’s morning skate. “Ever since the injury happened last spring, it’s been a struggle to get back and feel good. Every time you watch the team play you just want to get out there. “And it kills you inside when you can’t play. I’m just happy it’s over now and I don’t have to worry about that.” In a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams, Arniel planned to ease Heinola into the lineup by using him on a third defence pair, next to Colin Miller. Haydn Fleury gets bumped up a pairing to take Samberg’s spot alongside Neal Pionk. As hard as it is to see Samberg break his foot, Pionk says Heinola’s return is a morale boost. “The perseverance is incredible,” Pionk said. “You see what he went through last year, you feel awful for him. There’s not a whole lot you can do. This year, you get all excited for him and you look at things through his eyes and then he gets the bad news again in training camp and you just feel for him. I’m excited for him.” The Jets are coming off a 4-1 loss in Nashville — the tail end of their first back-to-back games of the season — and had Sunday off. At 17-4, they remain atop the overall standings, while Minnesota, 13-3-4, has the fewest losses in regulation. “Central Division doesn’t get any easier,” Arniel said. “Everybody is a tough out and these guys, obviously, have been having a great start, just like us.” Heinola says it doesn’t matter which team he’s playing, he’s just happy to finally join the one he’s been trying to make for such a long time. “They’ve been unreal the start of the year, and I’m just happy to jump on the train.” transmission or republication is strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account The Finnish Ice Hockey Federation on Sunday named Jokiharju and Vaakanainen as injury replacements for Miro Heiskanen and Jani Hakanpaa Finland had only four players left to choose from to fill those spots because only 11 defensemen from that country have played in the NHL this season; the other seven already were on the roster "It's great to have Henri and Urho on board," coach Antti Pennanen said in announcing the decisions "Both are very motivated and looking forward to the tournament and the opportunity to represent their country." who appeared in only two games this season for Toronto and none since mid-November because of a lower body injury The Stars listed Heiskanen as week to week with a lower body injury and Finland acknowledged he won't be playing 4 Nations "He's that type of player that any team in the world would love to have," captain Aleksander Barkov said Thursday of Heiskanen "He is a leader defensively and really good offensively so he's a huge part of Team Finland's success All the best and try and get back as soon as possible and as healthy as possible Canada must still name a replacement for two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2014 Olympic gold medalist Alex Pietrangelo who withdrew "to tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season," the Golden Knights said One man’s misfortune in professional sports is almost always another man’s opportunity It’s no different for Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Ville Heinola who suddenly has a huge chance to prove himself in the NHL just after getting off the injured reserve It was always the plan for Heinola — who had to have surgery in preseason to correct an infected screw in his previously-surgically-repaired ankle — to rejoin the Jets on Monday (Nov 25) in Minnesota on the third-game of a season-long six-game road trip It wasn’t necessarily the plan for there to be a spot in the lineup for him right away But a Steven Stamkos shot broke Dylan Samberg’s foot on Saturday night in the second period of the Jets’ 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators There’s no timeline for Samberg’s return but it’s an injury that could — and likely will — keep him out for months Related: Predators Defeat Jets 4-1 Via Third-Period Surge Samberg was excelling in his increased role this season playing solid defence on the second pairing’s left side with Neal Pionk and recording three goals and a plus-12 rating in 20:17 of average ice time That’s a big hole for us,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said postgame (From ‘Jets knocked off by Preds lose Samberg to broken foot,’ Winnipeg Free Press It’s a big hole indeed for the Jets — still leading the NHL with a 17-4-0 record — to fill seems like the leading candidate to fill it the Jets lent Heinola to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Manitoba Moose for conditioning purposes He played in both of the Moose’s past two games against the Chicago Wolves on Thursday and Saturday picking up one assist and posting a plus-one rating The AHL does not publish ice time statistics but he played on the second pairing in both contests and on the top power-play unit suffered a fractured ankle in the Jets’ final 2023 preseason game and never got back in the lineup after recovering Now-retired head coach Rick Bowness said back then that Heinola had played well enough to crack the opening-night lineup there was simply no room for him on a blue line that was thriving and giving up a historically-low number of goals He spent the rest of the season with the Moose recording 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 41 games While a top-four NHL assignment after only playing two games since last April may be trial by fire for the 2019 first rounder Samberg’s injury presents perhaps his best chance yet to prove capable of shouldering the full-time NHL role that’s eluded him in the five years since being drafted Bowness’ successor who spent the past two seasons as associate coach “I’m probably his biggest fan here,” Arniel said Wednesday before joking he told Moose head coach Mark Morrison to give Heinola 30-plus minutes per night in the AHL (From ‘Heinola solid in season debut for Moose,’ Winnipeg Free Press Whether Heinola slides right into Samberg’s spot — or Arniel instead elects to bump Haydn Fleury up to play with Pionk and deploys Heinola on the third pairing with Colin Miller — he figures to be in the lineup Monday against the Wild and for the foreseeable future After playing the Wild in what will be their third game in four nights Those games will be tough tests for not only Heinola but the entire team as they look to compete with other contenders sans Samberg The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide our articles are read millions of times every month 2024 – The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club announced today they have agreed to terms with defenceman Ville Heinola on a two-year contract extension with an average annual value in the NHL of $800,000 played 41 games for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last season and recorded 27 points (10G Finland native added a pair of assists and four PIMs in two playoff games for the Moose Winnipeg’s first-round pick (20th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft has played 35 games for the Jets over four seasons and has 11 points (1G 79A) and 92 PIMs in 152 career AHL games for the Moose Heinola’s 102 points ranks eighth all-time among Manitoba defencemen He has also played 11 postseason games for Manitoba and recorded eight points (1G Heinola has represented Finland numerous times including a trio of World Junior Championships (2019-21) where he totaled 13 points (1G He won the gold medal for Finland at the 2019 World Juniors and the bronze medal at the 2021 edition November 18, 2024 at 4:18 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment The 2024-25 NHL season was expected to be big for the former 20th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft Thanks to a few departures this past offseason Heinola was thought to have a consistent role on the Jets’ blue line this season Heinola hasn’t suited up for Winnipeg since January 19th 2023 because of his ankle fracture and subsequent surgery a few months ago He’s spent much of the last three seasons playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and has performed quite well He’s scored 19 goals and 90 points in 130 games for the Moose since the start of the 2021-22 season with an additional one goal and eight points in 11 postseason contests The conditioning stint will allow Heinola to spend a maximum of two weeks with AHL Manitoba while still collecting his NHL salary Once the conditioning loan has run its course it will be interesting to see how the Jets incorporate Heinola into the lineup Transactions| Winnipeg Jets Ville Heinola Ville Heinola’s training camp has screeched to an unfortunate halt for a second straight season Article contentThe 23-year-old Finn will miss extended time due to an infection in his surgically repaired ankle The infection flared up over the past couple of days and was diagnosed after his bloodwork from Wednesday’s physicals was returned to the team “It’s not good,” Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Doctors are going to have to look at it a bit more so we will come back to this in the next week or so It’s a little bit more serious than we thought.” The infection’s origins can be traced back to last season’s training camp when Heinola broke his ankle in the final pre-season game Arniel revealed Friday the infection stems from the screw Heinola was absent from Friday’s afternoon session which sparked concerns over a possible injury When camp opened on Thursday, Heinola was a full participant, skating in the morning group and showing no signs of any ailment. The 2019 first-rounder was the frontrunner to secure a third-pairing job on the left side of Winnipeg’s blue line this season. “It hits you in the gut, especially after what happened last year,” Arniel said. “I’ve had great talks with him over the summer, two years ago, this year. He was so excited about coming back. As I said to him, it’s a setback, but these are things that make you stronger. Hopefully, we can get it fixed 100 per cent and go from there.” Heinola signed a two-year, $1.6 million extension this past off-season, shedding his waiver exemption status that previously allowed the team to send him back to the minors without having to clear waivers. Prior to his ankle break last year, Heinola’s strong camp earned him a spot on Winnipeg’s opening-night roster, which Arniel reaffirmed on Thursday. Heinola, meanwhile, was excited for the chance to win the job again. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Heinola said after a captain’s skate last week. “Been grinding out every single day just to be ready when I get the chance to be in the top six. That’s my only goal this year and working towards it. “It made me stronger mentally, for sure. Probably physically, as well. It’s never easy going through an injury and all the things that comes with it. But I think I handled it pretty well and am more ready now than I was last year.” As unfortunate as Heniola’s injury is, it opens up an opportunity for someone else to step up and grab. “Everybody gets pushed up one notch,” Arniel said. “It’s theirs to go out, perform in practice and show that they can play the exhibition games. Some of these D are going to get another look. It’s theirs to go out and grasp.” Hadyn Fleury, who has a history with Jets assistant Dean Chynoweth, appears to be emerging as a candidate to play on the left side. Fleury was partnered with Neal Pionk on Thursday and again for Friday’s session, suggesting the team is taking a long look at the 28-year-old former seventh overall pick. Dylan Coghlan, Logan Stanley, and Colin Miller are battling for the open job on the right side of the third pairing. Miller, having been paired with Dylan Samberg, seemingly has frontrunner status through the first two days of camp. With that said, Arniel said Thursday not to read too hard into the lines or defensive pairings. WINNIPEG – Ville Heinola must be wondering if he’s cursed Nearly one year after he fractured his ankle in a preseason game on October 5 2023 – the final exhibition contest before the regular season – that same surgically repaired ankle is causing him to miss more time An infection showed up in the 23-year-old defenceman’s bloodwork from Wednesday’s physicals Heinola skated on Thursday despite a bit of swelling in the area but will now miss time due to an injury that Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel describes as something that “isn’t day-to-day.” An update on Simon Lundmark and Ville Heinola. pic.twitter.com/Q1ItObUxDC Arniel said he had many conversations with the Finnish product in the summer but these are things that make you stronger,” Arniel said especially after what happened last year.” have said publicly that Heinola had earned a spot in the opening night roster with his play in five preseason games last fall and Heinola spent 41 games in the 2023-24 season with the Manitoba Moose accumulating 10 goals and 27 points “We'll just come back around this in maybe a week or so and see where he’s at,” he said “Hopefully we can get it fixed 100 per cent and go from there.” missed Thursday’s session as well after blocking a shot on Thursday The 23-year-old could skate again as early as Saturday but Arniel said the team will see how Lundmark is feeling when he gets to the rink Henri Nikkanen missed his second straight day of on-ice sessions due to illness November 12, 2024 at 12:29 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment The 23-year-old is getting closer to a return to play, though. He started skating on his own at the end of October and was spotted at practice Tuesday without a non-contact designation, team color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports Heinola is on injured reserve and would require waivers to head back to Manitoba on a full-time basis the Jets could allow him to get back up to game speed in the AHL by assigning him on a conditioning loan The left-shot Finn has never logged more than 12 NHL appearances in a single season He has 35 career games under his belt more than five years after being drafted recording 11 points with a -6 rating while averaging 15:15 per contest The hulking 6’7″ defender already missed the first four games of the campaign after undergoing minor knee surgery he has three points and a +6 rating in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night His customarily poor possession numbers haven’t changed despite Winnipeg’s hot start – he’s only managed to control 45.5% of shot attempts at even strength You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief as the Winnipeg Jets hit the practice ice on Thursday Article contentThere was all-star defenceman Josh Morrissey in full uniform – no non-contact yellow – and showing no sign of the injury that caused him to leave Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Nashville Coupled with the return of Dylan Samberg from a broken foot the Jets will have as healthy a blue line as they’ve had in a while when they host the L.A Morrissey will return to his spot alongside Dylan DeMelo on the top pair while Samberg snuggles in next to Neal Pionk on the second I can tell what kind of play he’s thinking or what play he’s going to make,” Pionk said “Little stuff that you read off all year.” That leaves head coach Scott Arniel a third unit to toy with His decision is to leave Logan Stanley in the lineup ahead of Ville Heinola Stanley and Dylan Coghlan will make up the last pair “It’s just going to be that way,” Arniel said. “But I really liked what Coughs did, more than anything. I want a lefty-righty. I’m not married to that, but I do want it against LA.” Heinola and Stanley both shoot left, while Coghlan is a righty. So Arniel’s default position was leaving Coghlan in and choosing one of the other two. The next two games will test the Jets’ structure, resolve and probably their patience. The Kings are the only NHL team with a better goals-against-average than Winnipeg: 2.50 to 2.52. “Big, defensive team,” Arniel called them. “One of the best defending teams in the league when it comes to the analytics. They’re a team that obviously is playing extremely well, especially since the last time we saw them. You’re going to have to fight for every inch. For us to get offence we’re going to have to get inside. The Jets last played the Kings back in late November, losing 4-1. L.A. has won four in a row and are 6-2-2 in their last 10. To prepare, Arniel had his crew doing a drill they call “the trench” at Thursday’s practice, where they set up a net near the side boards, at an angle to the corner, and hold two-on-two battles. “It just puts guys in tight situations,” the coach explained. “We’re going to get into these against L.A., and I want to just tone ourselves up, get ourselves into a situation where you’re working with a partner.” The next night it’ll be division-rival Colorado, more of an offensive powerhouse who were 7-2-1 in their last 10 going into a Thursday night tilt in Minnesota. “We’ll talk about them on Saturday,” Arniel said. “L.A.’s a really good challenge for us right now. We can score goals, but they’re really good at defending.” The Jets are ranked third in scoring (3.62 goals per game), the Kings 13th (3.11), the Avalanche seventh (3.33). Samberg, coming off that broken foot, says he’s adding even more shot blockers to his skates, protecting the area on top of his foot that suffered the break. “I’ve got a transformer skate now, pretty much,” he joked. “I’ve got the whole nine (yards), with shot blockers protecting that. A couple small spots I had to trim out… now I’ve got the entire skate covered.” While he’ll try to pick up right where he left off, his defence partner knows standing in front of the next shot won’t be easy. “Oh, it’s tough,” Pionk said. “The first one’s going to be tough to sit in front of. It’s like coming off the summer, getting into that first game. It might take a shift or two but I’m sure he’ll transition real nice. “Part of the nature. Part of the DNA. We’ve been doing it our whole lives.” paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca X: @friesensunmedia WINNIPEG – It was business as usual for Ville Heinola over the summer in Finland The 23-year-old heads into this upcoming season with a huge opportunity in front of him Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt have different addresses now and that means the log jam in the organization on defence has cleared up a little I've been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Heinola “Been grinding out every single day just to be ready when I get the chance to be in the top six That's my only goal this year and working towards it." Dillon’s departure may be providing opportunity for Heinola but the young defenceman will miss the 33-year-old around the room and on the ice Dillon and fellow veteran blueliner Nate Schmidt provided a lot of support for Heinola over their time here in Winnipeg and I still talk a lot to Dilly,” said Heinola “It's just having someone there and you know you can say whatever you want and they're going to understand and listen to you." Heinola and Dillon were paired together throughout training camp and the preseason the last two years Dillon was visibly upset after Heinola fractured his ankle last October during his postgame interview following the Jets preseason finale on home ice against Ottawa The new Devils defenceman chatted with winnipegjets.com about the situation “I really respect and have a lot of time for him and how fun that bubbly personality seems to have It just sucked that injuries happen in all facets of life and unfortunately for him “An amazing training camp was getting some looks on the second power play and he just seemed to be running with it and an unfortunate turn in the corner I’m sure a play that he has done a million times and next thing you know there’s surgery and he’s out until January.” The Finn didn’t play again until mid-January when he suited up for the Manitoba Moose 17A) in 41 regular season games in the American Hockey League and added two assists in two playoff contests “It's never easy going through an injury and all the things that comes with it But I think I handled it pretty well and am more ready now than I was last year." Being mentally and physically stronger is great for the Jets 1st round pick from 2019 and the confidence gained from his performance last fall can only help "I felt like I played well there,” said Heinola “But it doesn't matter what I did last year or two years ago Dillon said he has been chatting with Heinola thiis summer and was happy to hear that the younger defenceman is healthy and looking forward to a positive successful year “Going to camps and seeing Ville and see him build his game and kind of grow his game The sky is the limit when it comes to that ability to play in different situations I think there is that adaptability for him to able to find that niche of how he’s going to be able to affect games,” said Dillon “You gotta find a way whether he’s playing on the left side or the right side and I don’t know what Arnie (Scott Arniel) has in store for him But just the willingness to fit whatever puzzle piece he needs to be there to make this Jets team and to be an everyday player.” Heinola has worked hard over the past couple years to focus on the defensive side of his game I know my strengths and I know what I'm good at I want to do those things well,” said Heinola I don't really have to worry about those things It's more like proving to (the coaches) that I can do those other things PAUL – All the waiting is finally over for Winnipeg Jets (17-4-0) defenceman Ville Heinola The 23-year-old had all but made the Jets roster out of training camp last fall before breaking his ankle in the final preseason game He was ready for game action in January of 2024 and went on to play 41 games for the Manitoba Moose only to get back to training camp ahead of this season – optimistic as ever – and have his dreams taken away again by an infection in that same ankle playing in two games with the Moose over the past weekend and tonight against the Minnesota Wild (13-3-4) Heinola will play his first National Hockey League game in 23 months “Every time you watch the team play you just want to get out there and it kills you inside when you can't play there,” said Heinola “For me it doesn't matter who I play against Obviously it's nice to play with these guys Heinola will slot in on a pairing with Colin Miller tonight The two of them skated together in one session at training camp the only one Heinola participated in before his infection was confirmed and will hope to develop some quick chemistry so it should make my job pretty easy to play with him So I think we're going to play pretty well together.” Heinola’s insertion into the line-up comes after Dylan Samberg’s broke a bone in his foot in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators Samberg blocked a one-timer from Steven Stamkos in the second period during a Nashville power play then put himself in harm’s way roughly 10 seconds later to block another attempt but he skated off the ice on his own power He’s willing to do the little things for the team After a tough loss on the scoreboard and on the injury front Pionk – Samberg’s defensive partner all season – says Heinola coming into the line-up could be looked at as a bit of a morale boost “The perseverance is incredible,” said Pionk you get all excited for him and you kind of look at things through his eyes and then he gets the bad news again in training camp and you just feel for him who stopped 17 of 18 shots in Winnipeg’s 4-1 win over Pittsburgh to open the road trip will get the start in goal against Minnesota The skaters in front of him are expected to look like this: Jets head coach Scott Arniel says Heinola won’t immediately jump into Samberg’s penalty killing role – Samberg ranks second on the team in overall shorthanded ice time this season often going out as the first defensive pair with Dylan DeMelo – and expects to spread those duties out “(Josh Morrissey) is going to get a bit more Haydn (Fleury) will jump out with that first group It all depends where we are in the shifts,” said Arniel “Haydn is going to see some bigger minutes and it’s a great opportunity for him.” they’re coming into tonight’s contest off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday Minnesota is second in the Central Division and look to possibly get back Kirill Kaprizov The Russian forward missed the game against the Flames with a lower-body injury the result of a knee-on-knee collision during Minnesota’s win over Edmonton but was a full participant in the line rushes on Monday Winnipeg won the first meeting of the season between the two – a 2-1 overtime victory back in October – but every game between these two clubs tends to write its own story “This Central Division doesn’t get any easier have been having a great start just like us It was just a few days ago that Arniel considered himself one of Heinola’s biggest fans “It’s been a long ride for him,” said Arniel We wanted to get him a couple quick games with the Moose and now it’s a case of he’s here I know he’s been waiting for this moment for a long time.” The day Scott Arniel was introduced as Winnipeg Jets head coach, he was asked about his failure in Columbus. What lessons had he learned from one and a half losing seasons behind the Blue Jackets bench — and his ultimate firing — all of those years ago You think that maybe you have all the answers,” he said Arniel reiterated his early stubbornness when speaking to The Athletic in September “Part of the problem in Columbus is that I did try to do everything,” he said There were other lessons — Arniel has said he didn’t build enough rapport before making big asks of his Blue Jackets squad — and they all pertained to that same stubbornness How easy it would have been to talk about learning those lessons and then revert to old ways when shifts didn’t go as planned Arniel’s development has continued since the season started He can identify times wherein he would have gotten a bit more heated in his approach in the past but has run with new ideas instead Arniel spoke about the nuance of knowing when to push his players harder and when to take a different approach “There’s situations where you just have to read the room and (understand) when the timing is right,” Arniel said “Sometimes if you wait to the next day and they have to think about it for 24 hours then you kind of jump on it the next morning and it sometimes has a little bit more meaning with video behind it.” He also shared that he doesn’t go into the dressing room after every game you just let it fester … And it’s been great because our leadership has stepped in and taken over and maybe had their own little talk,” Arniel said the Jets’ schedule gets easier soon afterward Let’s start the week with a look at an item Arniel is getting right a confusing depth chart on defence and the top line When a player takes a centring pass and banks the puck off the endboards to himself instead of shooting, he’s either made a bold decision or something has gone wrong. When that player is in the middle of a 10-goal, 18-point run in his last 12 games, it’s Mark Scheifele playing at the height of his powers “I was going to shoot it and then it kind of hit their stick,” Scheifele said. “I just wanted to keep the possession going. (Kyle Connor) does what he does best and got open and I’m always happy to find KC in the slot.” old-school truth to Scheifele and Connor — the two of them have chemistry — which has irked some people who take a new-school then Connor and Scheifele should consistently outscore their opponents — and Scheifele and Connor are enjoying the best five-on-five goal differential of their careers together allowing us to bridge the gap between analytics and the eye test Because of course they have chemistry sharing a mutual understanding of who will be where and when Connor is great at jumping into space and Scheifele is great at protecting the puck until the right moment to make his pass Scheifele in particular will tell you about their chemistry any time you ask — and often when you don’t — and if you’ve played any amount of hockey and gotten an “I know what my teammate is going to do” vibe you can see that Scheifele and Connor have it The sticky wicket has been their defensive impact Add up all seven seasons they played together before this one and Winnipeg lost their minutes this is because their defensive weaknesses — chasing offence in transition even when the puck was not safe — compounded to put their defencemen on their heels This analysis is partly Gabriel Vilardi erasure; Vilardi is having an excellent year helping a line that was outscored last season win its minutes though — each is on pace for career highs in goals and points and they’re doing it while driving wins It would be wise to start this section with stats that contextualize this heated debate It’s possible (and probably for the best) that neither plays big minutes in the top six come playoff time But neither is setting Winnipeg’s playoff ambitions on fire Third-pairing defencemen are supposed to have weaknesses They’re also supposed to be sheltered — protected from top competition as Stanley and Heinola have been — and deliver positive results because of that sheltering Give Winnipeg’s coaching staff credit here if he were healthy — because those are the defencemen trusted to play the most amount of time against the Nathan MacKinnons and Connor McDavids of the world It’s also a great reminder that Samberg has had a phenomenal start to his season not only climbing the Jets’ depth chart but delivering the best shot share of any Jets defenceman Pionk’s numbers fell off when Samberg got hurt and Fleury was asked to play a more difficult role than was ideal for him What does all of this mean for Stanley and Heinola they’re two of the coaching staff’s least-trusted defencemen to play top competition — yet they’ve also earned some of the lowest shot shares on the team Back when Fleury was limited to a sheltered his shot share was closer to 50 percent — well clear of Stanley or Heinola If the playoffs started today — and if Samberg were healthy — Winnipeg would probably be best suited by a Fleury-Miller third pair and they’ll likely be lower after deadline day In the first period against Ottawa, Heinola made a smart play that showed his limitations and then made a mistake that showed his inexperience. The smart play was establishing a boxout against Senators forward Ridly Greig early in a defensive zone shift Multiple Jets coaches and defencemen have told me they like to start a boxout early — well in advance of a shot — and it’s easy to see how digging in early helps tie players up sooner while keeping them further away from the net Greig got a stick on the point shot all the same; Heinola’s decision-making was excellent and his battle level was high but he wasn’t strong enough to eliminate Greig from the play Stanley was victimized for both Senators power-play goals He’s been on the ice for eight five-on-four goals against in 38 and a half minutes which is the worst goals-against-per-minute rate on the team This is Ottawa’s first goal — a great passing play, first and foremost, exacerbated by Stanley’s slow attempt to block the pass. I don’t see a shoulder check that might give him a view of Tim Stützle darting into open space but the problem is that Ottawa makes a great play and Stanley is slow to react Not an ideal player to leave wide open 🤧 pic.twitter.com/3OKYxIIIQZ — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 29, 2024 you have to be ready for that,” Arniel said after the game you’ve got to be down and take that ice away.” Ridly Greig makes it 2-0 with a deflection on the powerplay! #GoSensGo Greig is having a game. pic.twitter.com/E1uqzOY9Nb — Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) December 29, 2024 Greig had gotten free from Heinola at five-on-five despite Heinola’s battling; he got free from Stanley on the power play despite being the only threat in front of the net at that moment Neither scenario is ideal and neither defenceman is excelling in his sheltered role I continue to have higher hopes for the 23-year-old Heinola than the 26-year-old Stanley but neither is likely to be a key contributor this season In the third period, Heinola took a penalty by taking himself out of position in trying to pick off a pass and Stanley made a good heads-up pass slightly behind Nikolaj Ehlers that led to Winnipeg’s fourth goal That was Cole Perfetti, to me, before Winnipeg’s back-to-back wins against Minnesota and Toronto I’d asked Perfetti to share his views on the team’s fall from record-setting excellence to its slightly above .500 early December slump I didn’t think it was fair to overreact to the losses just as I didn’t think it was fair to hand the Jets the Stanley Cup when they were 14-1-0 About the schedule then. You may roll your eyes now, just be clear that you’re rolling them at me. According to HockeyViz Winnipeg’s schedule overall is average in difficulty with 10 of Winnipeg’s 14 games in January coming at home so let’s keep that in mind if the Jets start 2025 with a bang I wanted to know how the fatigue of playing 13 games in 22 days between Nov 22 and December — a span in which the Jets went 6-6-1 — actually affects a hockey player Plenty of data shows teams fare poorly on the second night of a back-to-back or at the end of three games in four nights but sometimes you make a couple of mental errors or your brain slips for just half a second,” Perfetti said “That’s all it takes in this league for someone to make a play around you and for them to put the puck in the net.” Perfetti gestured with his head as if to hesitate in that half second of me thinking about it It’s such a fast league that half a second means the world.” I was reminded of Perfetti’s words when Ehlers described the highlight-reel play he made to Vilardi on Saturday night Ehlers told me he saw the lane to Vilardi open up on the shift before this one “It started on the shift right before that but I also saw Gaber was back door,” Ehlers said “If I could get it there I knew that we had a good chance of putting it in the back of the net How often do midgame reads like that lead to big plays When you get out there you obviously want to get the power play going right away but you also learn every single shift you go out there for the power play.” Whether it’s a half-second faster or slower or a single step to the left or right Perfetti and Ehlers are each talking about the tiny details that lead to huge moments in a hockey game don’t do a good enough job conveying how the little things work — how a subtlety in stick angle body position or a fraction of a second can dictate results The Jets might be in tough against Colorado on the second half of this week’s back-to-back Winnipeg plays 17 games in 38 days leading up to the 4 Nations Face-Off — 12 of them are at home there’s only one back-to-back and there’s no stretch of three games in four nights then they will win those half-seconds and half-steps between now and the February break (Photo of Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images) When you hear big names like Elliotte Friedman mention on the 32 Thoughts podcast that he hopes to see Ville Heinola get a fresh start elsewhere The once highly touted defensive prospect of the Winnipeg Jets has had two consecutive seasons marred with ankle injuries That isn’t to say with complete certainty that Heinola’s tenure with the Jets will end but given the comments by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman it could be a sign that the team is looking or getting ready to make that crucial decision defensively Drawing parallels to a couple of former Winnipeg Jets defenders some may argue that the writing might be on the wall for Heinola He found himself on waivers early in the 2022-23 season and was later claimed by the Montreal Canadiens where he began to flourish on the team 19A) in 139 games doesn’t seem like a whole lot for a defenseman the former third-rounder honed his defensive style of play before being traded to the New Jersey Devils which is a significant step in the right direction for the 27-year-old Kovacevic Kovacevic arguably would’ve been a great third-pairing or seventh defenseman for the Jets but his intensity would be a great addition to the Jets’ blueline If you filter through the past few seasons there wasn’t a spot at the time for Kovacevic once he became waiver-eligible The Winnipeg Jets needed to decide on the defender It’s a beaten drum that rang all too familiar just two seasons later Does the name Declan Chisholm sound familiar Another defensive prospect with a lot of potential for Winnipeg found himself on waivers early in the 2023-24 season and later claimed by the Jets’ central division rival made an immediate impact in Minnesota’s organization and has been a regular in their lineup since he was claimed Chisholm’s impact is undeniable in Minnesota had he stayed in Winnipeg and other defensemen been moved It’s a part of the questions circling current defenseman Ville Heinola As Elliotte Friedman mentioned in 32 Thoughts today he hopes Heinola can get a fresh opportunity elsewhere You can easily understand the frustration of Heinola Earning an NHL roster spot at 18 years old and also became one of the top talents in the AHL but two seasons plagued with an ankle injury set him back Scott Arniel preached that he was Heinola’s biggest fan in mid-to-late November but the leash was still short even with the soon-to-be opportunity Arniel’s praises about Heinola came days before Samberg’s injury and he still faced a string of stop-and-start stretches of games This should have been the opportunity to see what the team has in Heinola as a defender It’s a unique situation for an NHL team that has eight-calibre defensemen on their active roster Given the likelihood the Jets make a move on the blue line ahead of the trade deadline it seems like the Jets will fall into the same habits that lost them both Chisholm and Kovacevic If you look further down the depth charts with Elias Salomonsson a fresh start might not seem that bad for the 23-year-old The year-to-year overview isn’t that bright either It’s clear that the Winnipeg Jets are looking for a specific mould of defenseman on their bottom pair a 6-foot-7 defender who is not afraid to drop the gloves and throw his body around Stanley’s towering Heinola by seven inches is likely a big reason that Heinola finds himself in the pressbox especially against historically physical opponents That’s not to say that size is the reason that Stanley continues to stay in the lineup either 8A) in 42 games are great for a defensive defenseman and then you see 61 PIMs and a plus-minus of plus-10 Some will argue that plus-minus is a useless stat Logan Stanley has been more than serviceable for the Winnipeg Jets which is why he’s played 181 games and counting The workload won’t get easier either as the Winnipeg Jets should be looking to find another upgrade defensively but Logan Stanley is doing something right and will likely only continue to develop as a good bottom-pairing defensive defenseman Given the Jets’ likeliness to make an addition on the blueline at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline and that might be giving Heinola a change of scenery for the benefit of his NHL career from a long-term standpoint Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email Conrad Jack is a Manitoba based sportswriter covering the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) and the Manitoba Moose (AHL) He also covers the NHL Draft and World Junior Championship for ITR He writes the Bargain Bin blog which covers NHL News & Rumours Anthony Stolarz Leaves Game One Against Florida Panthers The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery took place in Secaucus and the Boston Bruins found out where they will draft in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft on June 27 the fifth-worst team in the NHL in 2024-25 Round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is wrapped up which means one team was eliminated while the other advanced to the second round The Winnipeg Jets clinched the series with a game seven Louis Blues to advance to the second round December 1, 2024 at 9:17 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 7 Comments saying that Bunting has the ability to get under the opponent’s skin It wasn’t that long ago that Bunting appeared to be getting under the skin of Sullivan as the 29-year-old had just a single assist in his first 12 games this season Bunting found himself a healthy scratch in mid-October and had to work his way out of the doghouse and back into the lineup November wasn’t exactly a month to remember but it did enough to quiet trade rumors as Bunting was back to his usual production posting five goals and four assists in 14 games 5 months ago if team Canada wants to be a true problem for their Nation opponents all they have to do is put Brayden Point Connor McDavid & Nathan MacKinnon on the same line as they would technically have the 3 fastest skaters in hockey on 1 line Good luck trying to stop that force of nature as that would be an utter nightmare to defend 5 months ago 5 months ago I think they are regretting the early nod to Marchand at this point 5 months ago We went 10-2 at the end of last year when we scratched Ryan Graves we are on a 3 game winning streak after scratching Ryan Graves I think we have more issues than just Ryan Graves it speaks to just how bad this guy has been that he is singlehandedly the difference between a mediocre team losing most of it’s games vs When your “plays with heart” guys is dogging it…no good 5 months ago There is NO comparison to Hornqvist and Bunting It’s a meaningless exhibition that absolutely nobody cares about With the exception of true NHL fans like myself that will be denied games for two weeks 5 months ago The only thing worse than an all star weekend…. 5 months ago Now go ahead and really let them have it by paying attention and ranting about the tournament in every available forum Defenseman Ville Heinola isn’t participating with the team during training camp due to an ankle infection. The infection is from a screw that was inserted into his ankle during surgery last season Arniel told the media that this is not a short-term ailment so we’re going to just come back around to this in a week or so and see where [Heinola’s] at…a little more serious than we thought.” Arniel said the team expects Heinola to be out for a while Heinola was projected to challenge for one of the last spots on the blueline in Winnipeg, especially after signing a two-year contract–with an $800,000 AAV–this past July He had recently finished the final year of his entry-level contract with an AAV of $1.075,833 Heinola suffered a fractured ankle in the Jets’ final preseason game He didn’t return to game action until he was reassigned to Winnipeg’s American Hockey League affiliate scoring 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points Heinola hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since Jan though his first few years with the team has seen him go up and down between the Jets and the Moose spending most of his North American pro career in the AHL Heinola has been with the Jets organization since the team took him in the first round Finland nave had spent the previous season He has played in just 35 games over his career in the NHL the Finnish blueliner has totaled 23 goals and 79 assists for 102 points Heinola has also registered eight points in 11 Calder Cup Playoff games Heinola made a name for himself thanks to his play on the international stage with Team Finland He played for Suomi at the 2017 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2019 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship Heinola also was on the Finnish squads in three straight IIHF World Junior Championships where he was named to the tournament all-star team Ville Heinola and Logan Stanley have become intertwined. While the Winnipeg Jets drafted both players in the first round, their development paths have stood in stark juxtaposition. Stanley — a hulking six-foot-seven defenceman — has been given ample opportunity since becoming an NHL regular four years ago. Heinola — a six-foot puck-moving defenceman — was over-ripened in the minors for years despite turning heads when he suited up for eight NHL games as an 18-year-old. There’s a narrative, fair or not, that the Jets’ loyalty to Stanley is rooted in an organization stubbornly holding out hope that they weren’t wrong in reaching to draft him. Many believe Heinola’s development has been hindered as a result. So, when news trickled out ahead of Winnipeg’s 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars that Heinola would be a scratch for a second straight game, all eyes turned to Stanley. And the towering defender had a game to forget on Sunday, taking three ill-advised penalties. At the 12:27 mark of the first period, he slashed Evgeni Dadonov. With 1:10 left in the first frame, he cross-checked Roope Hintz from behind in the neutral zone. And then, at the 6:58 mark of the second period, Stanley took a hooking penalty, on the penalty kill, when he was caught out of position defending Jason Robertson off the rush. It gave the Stars an extended 5-on-3 power play. What we saw from Stanley against Dallas was not a one-off. He’s taken the most minor penalties per 60 minutes (2.18) of any defencemen that’s played at least 150 minutes this season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. When speaking to reporters post-game, Jets coach Scott Arniel didn’t shy away from the fact that Stanley had to be more disciplined. However, he also provided a vote of confidence in the 26-year-old blue-liner. “He needs to be in our Top-6,” Arniel said. “He’s a big-bodied guy, he’s got size, he’s got experience in this league. He expects more from himself, but at the same time, he’s no good (to the Jets) sitting in the press box and trying to get better. He’s got to be in these types of games. Hopefully, he’ll continue to grow.” You can bet a lot of Jets fans flipped their keyboards reading that. The reality is, the Jets giving Stanley such a long leash boils down to what most coaches believe is a necessity for an effective backend — size. And while there’s merit to that ideology, leaving Heinola on the outside looking in — especially while Dylan Samberg remains on the shelf — is problematic. NHL on SportsnetLivestream Hockey Night in Canada, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the Oilers, Flames, Canucks, out-of-market matchups, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the NHL Draft. For years, Heinola was a coveted prospect that teams inquired about. Now? It’s hard to envision any team giving up much for him. Not if he can’t put together more reps at the NHL level. Small sample sizes be damned, what we’ve seen from Heinola this year — when he suited up against the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings — speaks volumes to his ability to help the Jets win games, and it’s a testament to his overall growth as a prospect. He was sturdy defensively — out-muscling players much bigger than him in front of the net — all the while demonstrating poise with the puck. Now, mind you, Arniel has made it known that he’s a fan of Heinola’s game. And perhaps we’re reading too much into his recent vote of confidence in Stanley. But after years and years of Heinola getting a limited opportunity and on the heels of a healthy scratch despite a positive effort in the previous game, it’s fair to question if we’ll actually see the 23-year-old Fin get an extended trial run. It’d be a shame if the Jets didn’t let him run with it, especially after Stanley’s last performance. Canadiens’ trend of beating themselves continues with loss to BruinsCanucks Takeaways: DeBrusk, Hughes heroics highlight resilient OT winCOMMENTS Winnipeg is pushing for a Central Division title and you want to know how the Jets shape up for the playoffs This month’s mailbag was full of postseason questions Colin Miller or Haydn Fleury be dressed for Game 1 and what’s his ceiling if all goes well for him What’s my assessment of Stanley’s recent performance? What would it take for Connor Hellebuyck to be considered the best American goaltender of all time But first: A hearty thank you to Matthew L. whose question about Kieron Walton contributed to a scoop Hearing Winnipeg has signed Kieron Walton to his ELC — Murat Ates (@WPGMurat) April 7, 2025 Note: Submitted questions may be edited for clarity and style Is he not signing his entry-level contract for a reason Would love to see him with the Moose if/when Sudbury is eliminated No issues here: I can report that Walton has signed a three-year entry-level contract with an AAV of $858,000 which means Manitoba must sign him to an amateur tryout agreement so he can play in any of the four remaining Moose games If you missed it, here’s what I wrote last week in choosing Walton as the Jets’ prospect who had “the most promising season.” Walton was the 187th player taken in the 2024 draft Almost everything he’s accomplished since then makes you wonder how he lasted that long The 6-foot-6 forward more than doubled his OHL point production this season finishing with 92 points in 66 games after posting 43 points in his draft season It’s rare for a forward of his size to possess such a slick offensive toolkit; Walton is doing his best to emulate the greats watching Tage Thompson clips in his spare time and building his own highlight reel Walton finished his OHL playoffs with five points in four games as Sudbury was swept by Kingston Manitoba’s next game is April 11 at home against Iowa what is the realistic ceiling for Ville Heinola I don’t expect Heinola to factor into Winnipeg’s stretch run or playoffs so there are two options for the next step in the defenceman’s career who haven’t dressed Heinola in a game for over a month Heinola is under contract next season but so are Josh Morrissey Dylan Samberg is one of Winnipeg’s top RFA priorities The Jets have engaged in extension talks with Neal Pionk’s representatives Heinola will have competition with at least seven waivers-eligible defencemen at training camp If coaching and management have largely found Heinola unworthy of game action this season it would take a stunning run at training camp for him to win a job Winnipeg could trade Heinola if it finds an interested party at the draft or during the offseason I think it’s more likely that he takes another swing at Jets camp in September hoping for the good health that’s eluded him for two straight seasons The Jets have lost Johnathan Kovacevic and Declan Chisholm to waivers in the past; Heinola could be next in line What kind of ceiling should we set for Heinola I think an NHL top-four job is probably out of reach Heinola is 24 years old but has missed playing time during an important stage of his development That was true in the 2021 season when a depleted Winnipeg team called Heinola up to its taxi squad and didn’t use him true when the Jets upgraded their defence and Heinola was justifiably on the outside looking in and again in 2025 now that he’s not getting into games A player doesn’t go from that kind of role to top-four success without a long multiseason stretch of play figuring things out on the third pair 🎥 “It was a good moment for me and I was excited” Ville Heinola speaks on his first ever NHL goal, his first road-trip in the league, and more. #WPGvsPIT pic.twitter.com/1MFdkxXm6S — Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 9, 2019 I could see him emerging as an everyday player on a sheltered third pair — someone you don’t trust against elite competition but who makes enough puck retrievals and exit passes to help his team generate offence Regardless of Heinola’s draft pedigree or talent level Connor Hellebuyck is four wins away from tying the NHL record for wins in a season How many games do you think he starts down the stretch I think Hellebuyck gets three or four of Winnipeg’s five remaining games The Jets could rest him against Chicago on Saturday Hellebuyck sat for Laurent Brossoit to end last season so I’m assuming the Ducks game goes to Eric Comrie now leaving Hellebuyck short of tying the wins record I suppose they could get excited if he wins against St Louis and Dallas and give him the Chicago game too (and chasing the division title is a good pretense to keep the starter in net) the team’s playoff success matters far more than an individual record the Logan Stanley we’ve seen lately looks more like a credible piece on a Cup-worthy team than at any other time in his career What is your assessment of his current play playoff role and high and low potential for next season You asked your question before Stanley had his puck stolen by Andrei Kuzmenko then fell on his attempt to dig in and get back to defend the rush I agreed with its premise when I read it: I wasn’t going to heap adulation upon Stanley for looking like he belonged but it had seemed he was playing a cleaner brand of hockey for two or three games THE SHOT THE GOAL THE CELLY OMG pic.twitter.com/oLjxXGlauQ — x – LA Kings (@LAKings) April 2, 2025 Kuzmenko made a great play while Stanley’s feet failed him Stanley is an adequate third-pairing defenceman in his own zone who looks for opportunities to jump into the attack from the offensive blue line sometimes at the expense of better offensive opportunities — and gets a lot of pucks out of Winnipeg’s zone in the form of chip-outs that turn into fresh transition attempts by his opponents (I’m not trying to demonize him for the chip-outs but getting out of the zone with possession is preferred Stanley is a physical presence who makes occasional big hits and is willing to drop the gloves despite not appearing to have the natural disposition for an enforcer’s role is an adequate third-pairing defenceman who can win the sheltered minutes he gets Schenn is Winnipeg’s most likely third-pairing defenceman great along the boards and pretty good at short-range passes that put his partner in a good position to break out Schenn doesn’t have the footspeed or the long-range passing skills to key breakouts on his own and makes a lot of the same “off the glass and out” plays that Stanley does but they allow opponents to reload and try out another attack There’s a reason the Jets’ first move upon acquiring Schenn was to try him with Fleury: In theory Fleury brings the fleet feet and puck skill to get the puck up ice on teammates’ sticks But Fleury did not do well enough that his role is beyond doubt Miller is the best defenceman available to play beside Schenn but I’m not sure that the Jets are interested in a righty-righty third pairing Heinola is like Fleury in that he seems like an ideal stylistic fit but the Jets have used him so infrequently that they’d be asking him to jump onto a speeding train from a standstill The #NHLJets' third pairing has been a hot topic all season. @Hustlerama asked @WPGMurat who starts Game 1 of the #StanleyCup playoffs Presented by Prairie Toyota Dealers pic.twitter.com/ziQPQ3CWiH — Winnipeg Sports Talk (@SportsTalkWPG) April 3, 2025 I think a lot of those minutes come alongside Schenn on the third pairing and I think the Jets spend most of those shifts in their own zone I worry about Stanley at his worst; his first step and change of direction are slow and his positioning and reads are not flawless enough to make up for that We haven’t seen much of the Stanley/Schenn duo so far; they’ve been outscored 1-0 in just over four minutes together How far away is Hellebuyck from being the best American goalie of all time Does a third Vezina and a medal next year at the Olympics make him the best My first draft of this answer got philosophical about the difficulty of comparing goaltenders across generations Why fault Mike Richter for playing in an era when Dominik Hasek won six of eight Vezina Trophies Why blame Ryan Miller for playing in Buffalo and Anaheim for so many lean years is it fair that three-time Cup winner and all-time American wins leader Jonathan Quick automatically gets the No Most metrics we use to demonstrate greatness — wins and goals against average — are team stats We don’t have goals saved above expectations across generations because tracking shot locations is relatively new in NHL history Hockey Reference attempts a “goals saved above average” comparison that shows John Vanbiesbrouck as No 1 all-time among American goalies; that’s not the definitive answer Part of me wants to attack this problem by comparing every consensus top-10 American goalie to their peers in each year of their respective careers career accomplishments and special criteria like moments of greatness Hellebuyck’s peak is as good as any American goalie’s He’s put together eight seasons of elite play in a row (unless you’d like to omit 2021-22 He’s sixth all-time among American goalies in wins (and only one win behind Craig Anderson in fifth) Team Canada beat Hellebuyck for gold at the World Cup of Hockey but the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs and 2026 Olympics provide new opportunities for transcendent moments I’d like to see Hellebuyck put together a few more elite seasons or add championship hardware or both before I’m ready to call him No but there’s a gap that needs to be closed — whether it’s the 85 regular-season wins that separate Hellebuyck from Quick in top spot or the 16 playoff wins that separate him from the Stanley Cup (Photo of Connor Hellebuyck: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images) In some unfortunate news for the Winnipeg Jets, defenceman Ville Heinola suffered another setback last week that is likely to keep him off the opening-night roster While the Jets still have six defencemen to ice the team now has new problems to contend with as the season kicks off Ville Heinola is out and it's not short term The team discovered a potential infection during medicals and now his ankle has swollen up at the site of the screw from last year's surgery.Have to feel for the young player who was almost certainly on the cusp of a job The 23-year-old defenceman was drafted 20th overall by the Jets in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and was ranked one of the best international prospects that year having only appeared in 35 games with the Jets he was poised to make the opening-night roster until he broke his ankle it seems his infection is once again going to leave him sidelined indefinitely With Heinola set to be out long term, the Jets have a few other options to fill that gap. During the offseason, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff signed two depth defencemen they have a new opportunity to compete for a roster spot Related: Reflecting on Adam Lowry’s First Season as Jets Captain Coghlan only played in one NHL game last season Each of them have played in one preseason game so far and they both only had one shot on goal the team will likely give each of them a good look as training camp progresses to replace Heinola It’s way too soon to say how big of an impact Heinola’s injury might have short term, but if he’s out for the season again, the Jets may prioritize a defenceman at the 2025 Trade Deadline. The defensive core already took a hit with the loss of Brenden Dillon in the offseason so the loss of Heinola stings even more in that regard the effect of losing out on another top-six defenceman could be detrimental to team success Winnipeg had one of the best defensive cores last season it might only take one other long-term injury to really damage the team Where the team focuses their efforts at the deadline is entirely dependent on their success during the season but it’s still possible Heinola’s injury could leave a long-term effect like this down the line With the severity and frequency of his injuries and related issues it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the Jets started looking more closely at other players as a future replacement Prospect Elias Salomonsson is likely still a few years away from consistent NHL time so the organization would probably look elsewhere to fill any blue line gaps in the meantime if the team no longer see value in Heinola Salomonsson is the most likely prospect the Jets would rely on going forward it’s too early to say what Heinola’s future with the Jets looks like especially since the severity of the infection has yet to be officially determined One has to hope that his window of opportunity hasn’t closed just yet he’s a strong defenceman and remains one of the Jets’ top prospects the team will monitor his injury week-to-week and determine the best course of action the Jets will have to plug the holes in the lineup the best that they can The Winnipeg Jets shared some bad news about one of their top prospects on Friday Jets head coach Scott Arniel told reporters that defenceman Ville Heinola has an infection in the same ankle he had surgically repaired last season Arniel said that the injury "isn't day-to-day" and the team will have a better idea of his status in a "week or so." It's another tough break for the 23-year-old defenceman who was expected to have a good opportunity to be a key blueliner for the Jets this season including the fractured ankle that he suffered in the 2023-24 pre-season that forced him to miss the beginning of the season native did manage to suit up for 41 games with the AHL's Manitoba Moose last season and recorded 10 goals and 17 assists as well as two assists in two playoff games the Jets re-signed the defenceman to a two-year the Jets' 20th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft has one goal and 10 assists When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time. With winger Nik Ehlers out a week to 10 days it’ll be a shuffled Winnipeg Jets lineup that returns to home ice on Tuesday night Article contentThe most notable change will see No with Vlad Namestnikov taking his spot in the middle against the St To fill the centre position on the second line the Jets called up Brad Lambert from the Manitoba Moose the first coming at the end of last season “I’m just as excited as I was last year,” Lambert said Tuesday morning “I’m going to try to play like I do any other game Do my thing with the puck and play responsible without it He’ll have Gabe Vilardi and Cole Perfetti on his wings “Had a real good camp for us,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said of Lambert. “One of the young guys on our organization that we have an opportunity here.. get him a chance to see what he can do. He’s a skater, he’s got great offensive instincts. There’s stuff we’ll go over about how we play without the puck, but this is the opportunity. “We’re missing a top-six player and this is a great look for Lambo to step in and show us what he has.” Arniel’s other significant change comes on the blue line, where for the first time he’ll pair the big and tough Logan Stanley with the slender and nifty Ville Heinola on the third unit. Call them The Odd Couple, an idea the coach says he talked about back in the summer. “And then after day one of training camp, I never got to see it,” Arniel said, referring to injuries to both players early in training camp. “It’s just something I want to get a look at.” Heinola came off his ankle injury to play two games during the Jets last road trip, then sat out the last two while Stanley got back into action. Arniel says both need to play, so on Tuesday night the press box seats go to Dylan Coghlan, who’s played just once this season, and Colin Miller, who’s suited up for 24 of Winnipeg’s 25 games. “The biggest thing is don’t chase the game,” Arniel said of his message to Heinola and Stanley. “Don’t force plays that aren’t there… let the game come to you. Don’t complicate the game by thinking you have to do more.” As for Scheifele, who’s been hampered so much he hasn’t been taking faceoffs the last several games, Arniel hopes the move to the wing helps his star centre. “There’s some things he can’t do. So he’s limited in some areas. I’m never going to tell a player, ‘You can’t play.’ And these guys want to play. They may be banged up but we have a whole bunch of guys. Our list is big, as is every team’s right now. Bumps and bruises. Guys want to play through them.” With all the joy in joyland (sans last game) the Jets have been rolling along and maintaining the same lines There hasn’t been much in the way of injury updates for the NHL club of Winnipeg with both Ville Heinola and Jaret Anderson-Dolan out of sight Almost two weeks ago head coach Scott Arniel indicated Heinola wasn’t yet on the ice as he continued to recover from the surgery on his already surgically repaired ankle and then last week he indicated he still wasn’t skating Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve) All that has changed as he advised media today in Detroit when asked about the Finnish Dman and then added this about injured forward Anderson-Dolan: Yeah Ville’s been on the ice a couple of days They’re both out on the ice but both are just getting their conditioning right now Both players remain in Winnipeg as they work back towards full health Copyright © 2025 Illegal Curve. Website designed by More Hot Leads Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel shared some important injury updates ahead of the 2024-25 NHL season On Thursday, Arniel revealed that defenceman Ville Heinola underwent surgery to remove a pin in his ankle which he had surgically repaired last season The timeline for the 23-year-old's return is uncertain it's a quick recovery," Arniel told reporters Arniel told reporters that Heinola had an infection in his ankle which Heinola fractured in the 2023-24 pre-season that forced him to miss the beginning of that campaign Arniel added that fellow blueliner Logan Stanley is day-to-day after he "tweaked" something so he won't be available to us for the next few days," Arniel confirmed According to Jets colour analyst Mitchell Clinton the head coach fears the 26-year-old's status "isn't good." Stanley missed Wednesday's pre-season game because of the injury an assist and 40 blocked shots in 25 regular season games Defenceman Dylan Samberg, 25, didn't skate Thursday for "maintenance" reasons after Wednesday night's 6-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. "Dylan is more maintenance after last night. He's playing tomorrow, so I just want to make sure that he's good to go, he's not hurt enough that he's going into tomorrow's game not 100 per cent," Arniel said. How long should Jets stick with Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi top line?How will Jets deploy Cole Perfetti after signing bridge deal?COMMENTS Things are going from bad to worse for Ville Heinola The Winnipeg Jets defenseman has an ankle infection and will miss an indefinite period of time "Ville, not so good. Got some bad news on him. His ankle, he's got an infection," Jets coach Scott Arniel said Friday We'll come back around this in maybe a week or so A little bit more serious than what we'd like." Ville Heinola is out and it's not short term The team discovered a potential infection during medicals and now his ankle has swollen up at the site of the screw from last year's surgery.Have to feel for the young player who was almost certainly on the cusp of a job Heinola missed roughly half of the 2023-24 season with a broken ankle He produced 10 goals and 17 assists in 41 AHL games but did not appear in the NHL The 23-year-old was once considered one of the organization's top prospects He was drafted 20th overall in 2019 and made his NHL debut as an 18-year-old the following season he's only played in 35 career NHL games across four campaigns Heinola has a chance to make the Jets out of camp this season if he can return in time for the Oct Winnipeg lost veteran blue-liner Brenden Dillon in free agency and didn't add any defensemen of significance Working in Heinola's favor is that he'd have to clear waivers to be assigned to the AHL Winnipeg's opening-night defense projects to comprise Josh Morrissey Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan will likely compete for the No Ville Heinola is closing in on a return to the Winnipeg Jets The defenceman was loaned to the AHL's Manitoba Moose for conditioning purposes on Monday, but Jets coach Scott Arniel told reporters on Tuesday the stint won't last the full two weeks The Jets are hopeful Heinola will join the team for a trip to Minnesota next Monday The team announced in camp that Heinola had an infection in the same ankle he had surgically repaired last season native did manage to suit up for 41 games with the Moose last season Man, Ville Heinola just can’t catch a break. Last year was supposed to be his year. After three years of being slow-cooked in the AHL — where he evolved as one of the league’s best defencemen — he was a virtual lock to make the Winnipeg Jets’ 2023-24 opening night roster following a strong pre-season showing But that long-overdue opportunity would disintegrate after he broke his ankle in Winnipeg’s final pre-season game shelving him for three months and killing his chances of securing a full-time gig. Jets coach Scott Arniel announced that Heinola had an infection on the same ankle he broke last year There’s no telling how long he’ll be out. And now, the elephant in Winnipeg’s dressing room comes to the forefront — their defence corps. While Heinola wasn't a lock to be a saving grace for the team’s top-four, his potential emergence provided a glimmer of hope for a Jets team that had lost Brenden Dillon this summer Even with Dillon the Jets’ lack of depth on the blue line was the crux of their first-round implosion against a star-studded Colorado Avalanche team last spring the Jets prided themselves on being a stingy 5-on-5 defensive team throughout a 110-point campaign where they finished tied for first in goals against per game (2.41) and their goaltending tandem of Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit won the William M the team’s defensive play tailed off in the second half of the regular season and spiralled in the post-season where they surrendered 5.60 goals per game. That series laid bare what many had bit their tongue on throughout the Jets’ strong regular season — Winnipeg needed another top-four defenceman to be a legitimate playoff threat An uneventful free agency forced the Jets to look internally with Heinola being a prime candidate to earn some of the extra minutes that were up for grab Naturally, Dylan Samberg is the number one candidate to grab hold of Brenden Dillon’s old role as he did in Games 4 and Game 5 against Colorado is coming off an encouraging sophomore year where he recorded 18 points and posted solid underlying numbers in a third-pairing role The 6-foot-4 stay-at-home defenceman doesn't jump out to the naked eye but he’s got high-end defensive awareness and a knack for killing plays And he’s got plenty of believers within both the Jets’ boardroom and dressing room “He does a really good job of closing off space and he’s good with his stick,” Jets defencemen Dylan DeMelo told Sportsnet.ca on Saturday morning I don’t see why he can’t be like a Jaccob Slavin or a Gustav Forsling The next level for him would be to [produce] more offence he’s got all the makings to be a quality top-four D-man.” While Samberg isn’t a gifted offensive talent his poise with the puck came a long way last year and he can make a good first pass to facilitate a zone exit You shouldn’t expect Samberg to replace Dillon’s eight goals last year — he’s scored just three goals in 156 career NHL games — but that won’t matter if he can shoulder heavy 5-on-5 usage and continue to be an asset on the penalty kill. Nikita Chibrikov could very well become a fan favourite one day. was one of the few bright spots during the Jets’ first pre-season game against the Minnesota Wild The five-foot-nine Russian winger generated four shots — a few of which were scoring chances — was unrelenting in board battles and never shied away from delivering a hit. which I like,” Arniel said after Saturday’s game “But you can tell he has a lot of confidence.” Chibrikov is coming off his first pro season in North America where he recorded 17 goals and 47 points with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and scored his first career NHL goal during an end-of-year one-game audition the 2021 second-round pick has a cannon of a shot and he’s got the tools to be a valuable secondary scorer at the NHL level will the Jets give him a serious look to crack the roster this year? What should RFA Cole Perfetti’s next contract look like?Spotlight hovers over Lambert with open opportunities at Jets campCOMMENTS The plan is for him to play two games in the AHL and then rejoin the NHL club We heard from Jets bench boss Scott Arniel on Monday that they were considering a plan for Ville Heinola who was ready to get back into games after dealing with ankle surgery for the second time Shortly after we spoke with him the team announced he was coming off IR and would be heading to Manitoba on a conditioning assignment The longest a conditioning stint can last is two weeks and with Heinola no longer waiver exempt it meant his last run in the AHL (on this team) would be done at the latest by early December which would have afforded him the chance to play four games for Manitoba Today after morning skate head coach Scott Arniel was asked for further clarity and had this to say about the plan for Heinola: “It’s been a tough two years for him I don’t want him going from zero to 100 having to play in a game like tonight or having to go to Pittsburgh or wherever that game was We didn’t want him to get into contact until this past Monday Just asked him about going and playing some games I told Mo to play him thirty minutes down there He’s gonna play a 10:30 game on Thursday and I think a 2 O’clock game on Saturday and then he’ll be flying into Minny hopefully knock on wood everything works out but he’ll be back on Sunday.” Asked for clarity that it would be just for the two games this week against the Wolves and not longer Arniel added: We need to get him playing games and then we need to get him in our lineup.” What would he be looking to see from Ville to see that he’s ‘back up to speed’ “He’s been able to get into more contact situations So whether that’s him breaking out under pressure and getting up speed And that’s one thing he’s really good at His ability offensively to get away from people popping sticks….It’s just him looking like he’s played 20 games than having zero behind him.” The Moose are in action on Thursday at 10:30 AM when they take on the Wolves who they beat in Chicago last weekend It's next man up on the Winnipeg blue line Samberg broke his foot on Saturday after blocking a shot by Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos. The 25-year-old has three goals and three assists in 21 games this season. Heinola, the former first-round pick, has played 35 games in his NHL career — all with the Jets. The 23-year-old from Finland has one goal and 10 assists in that time. He was on a conditioning stint with the Moose following off-season ankle surgery. Jets’ Dylan Samberg suffers broken foot, heading back to Winnipeg for evaluationJets use balanced scoring attack in victory over LightningCOMMENTS The Winnipeg Jets have activated defenceman Ville Heinola from injured reserve and assigned him to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Manitoba Moose for conditioning purposes The 2019 first-round pick had to have surgery in the preseason to repair an infected screw in the ankle he had surgically repaired in 2023 after fracturing it in in the Jets final preseason game The fractured ankle quashed his chance of being in the Jets’ 2023-24 opening-night roster despite having earned a spot according to the now-retired Rick Bowness and the most-recent surgery two months ago was the latest setback on him trying to establish himself as an NHL regular played 41 games for the Moose last season after recovering from the first ankle surgery recording 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points can remain with the Moose for up to two weeks without being exposed to waivers The Moose have four home games in that span for Heinola to get back up to speed in 21 against the Chicago Wolves at Canada Life Centre The Moose are 5-8-0-0 on the campaign and just wrapped up a five-game road trip Related: Jets Re-Acquire Kahkonen Off Waivers From Avalanche The 15-3-0 Jets, meanwhile, have deployed Colin Miller, Haydn Fleury and Logan Stanley (currently injured) on their third defensive pairing in Heinola’s absence. Founded in 2009, and 100% Canadian-owned, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated hourly, with analysis, commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide, our articles are read millions of times every month. Defenceman Ville Heinola’s attitude toward the Winnipeg Jets’ training camp this year isn’t deviating much from last season’s If not for a freak accident that resulted in a fractured ankle he would have his first season as an NHLer under his belt “If I think about last year … I had exactly the same mindset: That I have to steal someone’s job to be on the top six,” Heinola said There’s always going to be someone that I have to play better than I feel that I’m ready for it and I know that I can do it.” the Jets prospect skated with nearly two dozen players informally at the team’s practice facility Among those were several blueliners he will compete with when training camp kicks off next week including summer signings and re-signings Colin Miller “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Heiniola said That’s my only goal this year and working towards it.” But the 23-year-old, who signed a two-year bridge deal in July, knows nothing can be taken for granted, even heading into a season down two veterans from their defensive corps in Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt. “It doesn’t matter what I did last year or two years ago,” Heinola said. “What happens now matters, and that’s what I’m focused on.” The Finn, who spent his off-season back home skating, fishing and golfing, said he had a couple of chats with new head coach Scott Arniel. The message from the coach to the player was a simple one. “I have to earn my job here and show what I can do and show them I can be in a top-six role,” Heinola said. Having missed so much time on the ice last season, the 2019 first-round pick spent a lot more time on it during the summer months, ensuring his impressive skating was where he wanted it to be. “I feel like I got where I was last year by the end of the season,” Heinola said, after finishing the year with the Manitoba Moose. “I felt like I could have been ready to play (in the NHL) last year, too, but didn’t get the chance.” Winnipeg’s structure and philosophy aren’t expected to deviate greatly from what worked under former bench boss Rick Bowness. There will once again be an emphasis on team defence, something that, along with Connor Hellebuyck’s Vezina-winning form, helped the Jets field the stingiest defensive team in the league last season. Winnipeg’s rearguards were also given the green light to move the puck up the ice, something Bowness instilled from the moment he arrived. Heinola’s game seemingly fits that mould as a puck-moving defender with vision and offensive instincts. “I can play an all-around game,” Heinola said. “The last two years, I’ve been focusing on my defensive part of the game. I’ve gotten better at it, last year especially, and the year before. I feel like I can do it all. I know my strengths and I know what I’m good at. “Of course, I want to do those things well. But I feel like if I play my game, I don’t really have to worry about those things. It’s more like proving to (the coaches) that I can do those other things, too.” Heinola said his confidence has grown, attributing that to age and experience. He also credited departed former teammates Schmidt and especially Dillon for their help. “I talked a lot with those guys, and I still talk a lot to Dilly,” Heinola said. “It’s just having someone there and you know you can say whatever you want and they’re going to understand and listen to you.” prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug the top five prospects for the Winnipeg Jets Lambert is expected to get a long look during training camp Finland had a strong season with Manitoba of the American Hockey League in 2023-24 Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Lambert benefited from playing half a season with Seattle of the Western Hockey League after he was drafted Lambert began that season in the AHL but was returned to his junior team following his third appearance at the World Junior Championship “For the first time he was playing against players his own age and his own peer group “The team didn’t win the Memorial Cup and went far in the WHL playoffs and he was a big part of it The big thing there is they transitioned him to center at that time and he took off there.” The 23-year-old was expected to make the opening night roster for the Jets last season but sustained an ankle injury in the final preseason game Finland was allowed to go home to be with family during his recovery and returned to play the last half of the season with Manitoba of the AHL Heinola played well in the AHL after his return and will once again get an opportunity to battle for a roster spot in Winnipeg the injury wasn’t just a simple injury,” Cheveldayoff said “He missed essentially 40 games with that injury and spent the whole second half of that season trying to get back to form Hopefully he’s had a great summer and we’re counting on him to take the next step.” How acquired: Trade with Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug The 19-year-old was acquired for forward Rutger McGroarty, who did not sign an entry-level contract with the Jets. Yager, selected by the Penguins with the No. 14 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, helped Moose Jaw win the Western Hockey League championship last season with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 20 playoff games. He also played for Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. Yager is expected to represent Canada again at the 2025 World Juniors. If he does not make the Winnipeg roster, Yager has to return to junior for a fifth season. How acquired: Selected with No. 50 pick in 2021 NHL Draft 2023-24 season: Winnipeg (NHL): 1 GP, 1-0-1; Manitoba (AHL): 70 GP, 17-30-47 The Jets were happy with Chibrikov’s first season in the AHL and believe he has high potential to be a skilled NHL forward. The 21-year-old from Moscow made his NHL debut last season and scored a goal against the Vancouver Canucks on April 18. “We’ve been excited from the moment that we drafted him and trying to let him go through the process of playing over in Russia until his contract is done and he can come over here,” Cheveldayoff said. “He had a great first year (in the AHL), he’s got a real good attitude towards the game and wants to be a player. He’s got good skill, he’s not afraid to go into the corners, he’s not afraid to go into the hard areas to score. He reads the play well and he’s learned the defensive side of it.” VAN@WPG: Chibrikov sends a nasty wrister in for first career goal How acquired: Selected with No. 55 pick in 2022 NHL Draft 2023-24 season: Skelleftea (SHL): 31 GP, 2-9-11 Salomonsson had a good season with Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League and was a member of its championship team. He also represented Sweden at the 2024 World Junior Championship. The 20-year-old is expected to play with Manitoba of the AHL this season, getting his first taste of North American hockey. “He’s a right-shooting defenseman, skates real well,” Cheveldayoff said. “He’s got a little bit of an edge, has good size and is someone that we think plays a real mature type of game. Once he gets acclimated over here, I think it’s going to excel more and more.” Ville Heinola signed a two-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Article contentThe deal comes with an $800,000 annual average value for the Finnish blue-liner, who will make $775,000 in 2024-25 and $825,000 in 2025-26. Heinola, drafted 20th overall in 2019 by the Jets, was on the verge of Winnipeg’s opening night roster last fall when he broke his ankle in the team’s final pre-season test. The injury, which required surgery, took months to heal, and the 23-year-old ended the season with the Manitoba Moose, notching 10 goals and 27 points in 41 games. Heinola became the 12th player in AHL history and just the second member of the Moose to record a five-point (one goal, four assists) game last season. Heinola will no longer be exempt from waivers and will need to clear them if he doesn’t secure a spot with the Jets this fall. In recent years, they’ve lost defencemen Johnathan Kovacevic and Declan Chisholm after trying to sneak them through the waiver wire back to Manitoba. Meanwhile, the Jets have two restricted free agents left to sign, including forward Cole Perfetti and defenceman Simon Lundmark. Winnipeg currently sits with $5,801,309 in salary cap space, according to Puck Pedia. We spoke with Jets head coach Scott Arniel today after practice about Ville Heinola who has been in a regular uniform and seemed ready to return to the lineup Seemed more likely it would be with the latter on a conditioning loan but we’d have to wait and see We got a couple on the road not that we practiced a whole lot He got to get into some really good 5 on 5 stuff We’ll talk to him and see how we move forward here We want to get him in some games sooner than later We just gotta find out what the best course of it is If the docs are 100% ready for us to move forward with him into games and talk to him about best scenario.” A few hours later the team announced they will be sending Heinola down to the Moose on a conditioning loan The loan can last up to two weeks (but not more) and the team has to have a roster spot for him (which they do because Logan Stanley is on IR) We learned during training camp that Heinola had an infection in the ankle that he had had surgery on last year only to require surgery again this year It’s been about two months since that news broke The Moose play this Thursday morning in a school day game On Monday, the Winnipeg Jets announced they have signed defenseman Ville Heinola to a two-year contract The deal will carry an $800,000 AAV through the 2025-26 season Heinola is coming off the final year of his entry-level contract with an AAV of $1.075,833 Heinola has been with the organization since the Jets took him in the first round Over the first four seasons with the club, Heinola was going up and down between Winnipeg and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. That was, until this past season, when a fractured ankle suffered during the preseason against the Ottawa Senators kept him off the ice for three months He would not make his on-ice return until Jan as he spent the entire 2023-24 campaign in the AHL the 23-year-old potted 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points That was down from a career-high 37 that he posted during the 2022-23 season He has played in just 35 games over his career Heinola has notched 23 goals and 79 assists for 102 points including eight points in 11 Calder Cup Playoff appearances November 19, 2024 at 5:50 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs have announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou has suffered a wrist injury and will miss the next four to six weeks He’s just three games into a tenure with Rockford after passing through waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks on November 13th Athanasiou recorded two goals on four shots in his AHL debut but didn’t manage any scoring in two games this weekend He’s playing in his first minor league games since the 2015-16 season working to earn a recall after failing to score in his first five NHL games this season The slow start this season has continued Athanasiou’s unpredictable career He’s only two seasons removed from a 20-goal 40-point season with a much weaker Blackhawks lineup but was limited to only 28 games last season by a lower-body injury that lasted nearly five months He hasn’t rediscovered his scoring on the other side of that injury – and now gets stifled from a potential resurgence in the minor leagues for the time being Athanasiou carries a $4.25MM cap hit and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer Heinola has been a frequent healthy scratch in recent weeks and has just one assist in 16 games with Winnipeg when he has played this season With the Jets atop the standings in the West it stands to reason that they’re going to look to add some defensive depth before next month’s trade deadline which will push Heinola further down the depth chart and possibly out of a roster spot altogether perhaps it makes sense to take what they could get for him now over potentially losing him for nothing later on via waivers This article first appeared on Pro Hockey Rumors and was syndicated with permission customized to your favorite sports and teams The Winnipeg Jets are betting on one of their top prospects Winnipeg has re-signed defenceman Ville Heinola to a two-year $1.6 million (worth $800,000 AAV) contract was a first-round pick for the Jets in 2019 including a fractured ankle suffered in the pre-season that kept him out for the start of the 2023-24 campaign Finland native managed to suit up for 41 games with the Manitoba Moose last season tallying 10 goals and 17 assists as well as two assists in two AHL playoff games He has one goal and 10 assists in 35 NHL games over four seasons The 2019 first rounder is ready to establish himself as an everyday NHLer Defenceman Ville Heinola made the Winnipeg Jets roster out of training camp ahead of the 2023-24 season before fracturing his ankle in the final pre-season game which resulted in his spending the back half of his season in the AHL with the sixth defence spot open for the taking Heinola spoke with the media after an informal pre-training camp skate on Tuesday afternoon obviously I’m very excited,” Heinola said about the opportunity ahead of him in training camp “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time I’ve been grinding every single day just to be ready when I get the chance to be in a top six that’s my only goal this year and I’m working towards it.” While the sixth defence spot is open for the taking Heinola will almost certainly be on the Jets in some capacity this season there is a very strong chance he would be claimed if he was placed on waivers His main competition for that role is Logan Stanley who is a familiar option for new head coach Scott Arniel as Stanley played 25 games last season and four more in the playoffs While the likely outcome sees him on the Jets in the 6th or 7th defence spot this season Heinola knows that he will still have to earn his spot when training camp begins With Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt moving on in the offseason the Jets are counting on a few players who were lower in their lineup last season to make a strong contribution this year he has a great chance to be a solid contributor in a full-time role Of course it’s worth noting Heinola’s mindset was the same when the above veterans were in camp last summer and I had exactly the same mindset that I have to steal someone’s job to be in the top six there’s always going to be someone I’ll have to play better than and I feel I’m ready for it and I know I can do it.” Heinola fractured his ankle in the preseason and Dillon suffered a hand injury in the playoffs Those were the only two injuries that the Jets’ defence core endured all season long which prevented Heinola from making a return to the lineup once he was healthy probably physically as well,” Heinola said about his ankle injury last preseason “It’s never easy to go through an injury and all the things that come with it but I feel that I handled it pretty well and I feel even more ready now than I did last year” he posted 10 goals and 27 points in 41 games for the Manitoba Moose resuming his role from the past three seasons as the power play quarterback and puck-moving expert “This summer I spent way more time on the ice,” Heinola said about his summer habits in Finland prepping for camp I missed a lot of time on the ice last year so that was my main focus being on the ice Getting my skating back and hands so I spent more time on the ice.” Schmidt being bought out this summer by the Jets could be a vote of confidence for Heinola who could use Schmidt’s 2023-24 results as a blueprint for his potential success this season as a third-pairing defenceman who can quarterback the second power play unit and post strong defensive analytics in the process $1.5M AAV contract this offseason to remain in Winnipeg He has proven over his 10-year career that he can be productive in a third-pairing role and whether his partner is Stanley or Heinola the Jets bottom pair is well-suited to post positive results Heinola believes that his style of play is well-equipped for today’s NHL where speed and puck movement are key for defencemen “I think I can play an all-around game,” Heinola said on his play style benefitting the Jets “The last two years I’ve been focusing on the defensive part of my game and I think I got better at it last year especially and the year before so I feel like I can do it all and I know my strengths and I know what I’m good at.” who has played 35 career NHL games but has never stuck for an extended period of time With a brand new coaching staff and the sixth defensive spot open for the taking Heinola will look to make a strong impression when camp begins on Thursday Video Description: Andrew ‘Hustler’ Paterson and Murat Ates of The Athletic dive into the hottest Winnipeg Jets topics following their loss to the Los Angeles Kings What’s behind Cole Perfetti’s scoring slump And how is Ville Heinola making an impact since his return to the lineup Mark Scheifele (00:00) Cole Perfetti (7:43) Ville Heinola (12:16) Coaching impact after the first quarter (17:37)