Winnipeg Jets, top prospect, Ville Heinola represented Finland at the 2021 World Juniors. Here is an assessment of how he played at the WJC.
Yesterday we gave Winnipeg Jets prospect, Henri Nikkanen a performance grade at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. Today, we turn and look at Nikkanen’s fellow prospect, countrymen, and 2019 Jets draft pick, Ville Heinola, and how he performed at the prestigious tournament.
Heinola was the Jets first round pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Last season he got a taste of NHL action and played in eight games for the Jets. He performed extremely well and scored one goal and had four helpers, but the Jets decided to send Heinola down to the Manitoba Moose then subsequently loaned him to Finnish hockey club, Lukko, for his development.
For the third consecutive year, the nineteen-year-old Heinola was called to the Finland U20 national team to compete at the World Juniors. With his prior NHL experience, Heinola was one of the players to watch coming into the competition and he definitely did not disappoint.
En route to a bronze medal, Heinola had zero goals, four assists, four penalty minutes, and a +3 plus/minus in seven games. Even though Heinola picked up one more point in the same tournament last year, he was consistently solid for Finland and helped them secure bronze.
Heinola’s performances were good enough to have him named to the Media All-Star Team of the tournament. This only affirms that Heinola stood out among the best under-twenty hockey players in the world.
WJC all-star team, as chosen by media:
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) January 6, 2021
G Devon Levi (FLA)
D Bowen Byram (COL)
D Ville Heinola (WPG)
F Trevor Zegras (ANA)
F Dylan Cozens (BUF)
F Tim Stuetzle (OTT)
MVP: Trevor Zegras (ANA)
Best players as picked by WJC:
G Devon Levi
D Topi Niemela (TOR)
F Tim Stuetzle
Heinola deserves a WJC performance grade of an A. Although he never found the back of the net, Heinola impressed all with his skating and vision.
He was a pleasure to watch control the play from Finland’s backend and he was rewarded for his performances by the media.
As of right now, it looks like the Winnipeg Jets made an outstanding choice when they selected Heinola twentieth overall in 2019. Heinola has a tremendous upside and potential; it will only be a matter of time before Heinola is controlling Jets’ games.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Do you think Heinola can step right into the Winnipeg Jets lineup upon his return from the WJC? Leave your comments below!