Ville Heinola
Ville Heinola (born 2 March 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing as a prospect for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] He was ranked as one of the top international skaters eligible for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[2][3] Heinola was drafted 20th overall by the Jets.
| Ville Heinola | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
2 March 2001 Honkajoki, Finland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Winnipeg Jets Lukko | ||
| NHL Draft |
20th overall, 2019 Winnipeg Jets | ||
| Playing career | 2018–present | ||
Playing career
On July 15, 2019, Heinola was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[4]
Heinola impressively made the Jets roster out of training camp. He became the first player of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft to register an NHL point during the Jets first game of the 2019–20 season against the New York Rangers on 3 October 2019. Heinola scored his first career NHL goal on 8 October 2019 against Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Heinola posted 5 points through 8 games before he was re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. After appearing in 3 games with the Moose, Heinola was loaned to continue development with his Finnish club Lukko for the remainder of the season on 8 November 2019.[5]
International play
Heinola competed with Team Finland at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in 2019, 2020, and 2021, winning the Gold Medal in 2019 and the Bronze Medal in 2021.[6][7] He was one of two defensemen named to the Media All-Star Team after the end of the 2021 tournament.[8]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Ässät | Jr. A | 33 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lukko | Jr. A | 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lukko | Liiga | 34 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Lukko | Liiga | 29 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Lukko | Liiga | 19 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 82 | 3 | 32 | 35 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Finland | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2019 Canada | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2021 Canada | |
References
- "Ville Heinola at eliteprospects.com".
- "Central Scouting International Skaters Midterm Rankings" (PDF). NHL.com. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- Button, Craig (January 7, 2019). "Craig's List: Hughes stays ahead of Kakko after World Juniors". TSN.ca. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- "Jets sign Ville Heinola to three-year contract". Winnipeg Jets. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- "Jets reassign defenceman Ville Heinola back to Finnish Liiga". The Sports Network. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- "IIHF - Kaapo Kakko gives Finns gold". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- "IIHF - Lundell leads Finns to bronze". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- "IIHF - Zegras named MVP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kristian Vesalainen |
Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick 2019 |
Succeeded by Cole Perfetti |