1. Ville Heinola
For the past couple of seasons, Ville Heinola’s name was constantly brought into the mix as a prospect who may be ready to be a consistent player with the Jets but that has yet to happen.
But with Winnipeg having three pending unrestricted free agent defensemen and an expansion draft on the horizon this may create a path for Heinola to solidify himself into the Jets’ lineup.
In the prior two seasons, Heinola has appeared in a total of thirteen games for the Winnipeg Jets while amassing a total of one goal, four assists, and a plus-one plus/minus.
Heinola was the odd-man-out of the Jets d-core last season and spent a considerable amount of time on the Jets practice squad. He did feature in 19 games for the Moose and had four goals and seven assists.
The twenty-year-old has the potential to be a terrific offensive defenseman. He is a great skater and his terrific vision with the exceptional ability to always find the open man.
With it looking more and more likely that the Jets will be losing a couple of defensemen from their roster this offseason, this may finally be Heinola’s big chance to make the jump to be a full-time defenseman and be a consistent key part of the Jets’ lineup.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Which prospect do you think will have the biggest impact with the Winnipeg Jets next season? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by Elite Prospects*