DRAFT PROFILE | Ville Heinola, Skill, Mobility, Vision

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Ville Heinola
Ville Heinola (photo courtesy IIHF.com)

DRAFT PROFILE | Ville Heinola, Lukko, Finland: Skill, Mobility, Vision, 2019 NHL Draft In Vancouver

Ville Heinola (photo courtesy IIHF.com)

There is no doubt that Marc Bergevin and his management team have become enamoured with the development system in Finland. A Trevor Timmins signature  selection includes two characteristics: work ethic and hockey IQ.  

Hockey sense can be a mitigating factor of a characteristic like being undersized. One defender who meets that description and falls into the middle first-round tier of defenders is Finnish national Ville Heinola. He could be available to the Canadiens at 15th overall.

Ville Heinola, Defence, Lukko (Liiga)
March 02, 2001 | Honkajoki, FIN
5-11, 181 lbs. | Shoots Left |
2018-’19: 34 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 PTS

CSB: No. 4 (EU Skaters) | ISS: No. 33 | THN: No. 20 | HP: No. 16 | FC: No. 21

The five-foot-eleven-inch, 181 pound defender bases his game on his hockey sense. While he may not reach the same talent level, I compare his style to Josh Morissey. If he can continue to improve his skating and gain strength, Heinola is projected to become a top-four defender in the NHL.

Heinola has a good stride and agility. He does lack speed to keep pace with attacking forwards. His edgework allows him to be quite mobile when defending. In order to be effective at the NHL level, he does need to work on his first step to be able to reach top speed in less time.

Offense is the strength of Heinola’s game. He makes good decisions reading and identifying openings. His shot is not one that would make a goaltender flinch but it is very accurate.

His passing game is very strong, allowing Heinola to make accurate passes even at top speed. He is a highly confident player who likes to retain control of the puck for as long as possible. 

He often makes the safe play, making an accurate pass to a forward in full flight or using a bank pass to hit his target. He identifies high percentage options with minimal chance of turnover. He is very capable at making smart decisions even under pressure identifying when to begin an offensive threat or when to simply regroup.

Heinola can also quarterback a power-play. His intelligence helps him to break down defensive coverage and his confidence helps him to execute the correct setup. He can also cut towards the net to use his accurate shot in creating a scoring chance.

His confidence playing versus men shone through this season playing in Liiga. His defensive game is not his main strength, but was mature enough to allow his coaching staff to trust him in a top-four role.  He is a strong positional defender who uses his vision to read the developing play and see where he should be positioned. His defensive abilities allow him to use his stick to cut off passing lanes as well as take back possession and quickly launching the transition game.

Heinola’s smaller size doesn’t help him when engaged in physical battles along the boards. Knowing this, he uses body positioning and a low center of gravity to do most of the work for him, allowing him to win many one on one battles.  He’s effective in this aspect of the game at the lower levels, but to become an effective defender at the NHL level he will need to add size and strength.  Heinola doesn’t shy away from the physical aspect of the game and is consistently willing to go to the dirty areas of the ice, playing with an edge as if he has something to prove.

Adding Heinola to the Canadiens organizational defensive depth would give them an excellent building block for a young and mobile left side.

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By Blain Potvin, Staff Writer. Edited by Cate Racher.
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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