Winnipeg Jets Loan Report: Liiga Suspends Play for Most of December

The Winnipeg Jets currently have five players in Finland playing in Ligga. Unfortunately, Liiga has suspended play for most of December.

At the start of this offseason the Winnipeg Jets made smart moves to send their best prospects to Europe to get some competetive gametime before the 2021 season begins. The Jets loanded three of the major Finnish born prospects back to Finland to play with teams that apply their trade in Ligga. These players include Ville Heinola, Joona Luoto, and Kristian Vesalainen.

These three joined unsigned Jets draft picks Henri Nikkanen and Santeri Virtanen in the country’s top division. Things were going well for the league, most teams were at around the fifteen game mark and there were some great games.

Unfortunately for the teams and players in Ligga, the Finnish league decided to shut down from December third through the nineteenth.

The translation of this tweet reads:

"The Board of Directors of the Finnish Hockey Championship Oy has decided to suspend the regular season for the period from 3 December to 19 December 2020 due to the coronavirus situation. The matches will be postponed."

This is not the best scenario for all involved, but I am sure the Winnipeg Jets management and coaching staff will be happy that the young talent that was on loan in Liiga got some quality ice time.

It was great to see Heinola put up 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) in 19 games. Also Luoto and Vesalainen both did well, with Luoto scoring nine points in 19 contests and Vesalainen having eight points in 10 games.

We will follow up on what the Jets will do regarding the loan deals. The Jets could start recalling their players or we could see them wait it out. Only time will tell what Winnipeg may do.

Winnipeg Jets Fans: What do you think the best plan is moving forward for the Jets prospects who were loaned to Finland? Leave your comments below!

*All Stats Provided by Liiga*