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Colorado Avalanche: Ville Heinola a Smart and Creative Defenseman

By Hilary Keane |
VICTORIA , BC - DECEMBER 27: Ville Heinola #34 of Finland versus Kazakhstan at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on December 27, 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VICTORIA , BC - DECEMBER 27: Ville Heinola #34 of Finland versus Kazakhstan at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on December 27, 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)

The Colorado Avalanche could select Finnish defenseman Ville Heinola with their 16th pick.

With everyone’s attention on Kaapo Kakko it seems the other top Finnish prospects are something of an afterthought. Ville Heinola has had a solid season. He won gold with Finland at the 2019 World Juniors and has two goals and ten assists with his team in Finland’s top men’s league.

The Colorado Avalanche have two first round picks in this years draft:

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#4 (from Ottawa)
#16
#47
#63 (also from Ottawa)
#78
#140
#171
#202

Ville Heinola could be under consideration for the 16th pick.

Ville Heinola

2018-19 Team: Lukko (Finnish Hockey League)
Date of Birth: Mar 2, 2001 (18 years old)
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 181 lbs.
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left

Ranked #16 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM
Ranked #21 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Ranked #33 by ISS HOCKEY
Ranked #37 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #4 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)
Ranked #19 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #24 by TSN/McKenzie

While most have him projected to go in the first round, he could end up slipping down to the second. He’ll almost certainly still be available when the Avalanche make their 16th pick, though.

Heinola is a smart player, which enhances his game both offensively and defensively. Ben Kerr of Last Word on Hockey says:

Heinola is a very smart player. He reads the play well in both ends of the ice.  Offensively, he starts the transition game with a good first pass.

Kerr than adds:

Defensively, Heinola cuts down passing lanes and creates turnovers. His intelligence extends to his own end, as he reads the play well and anticipates what opponents will do.

Cam Robinson of Dobber Prospects describes him as “A talented and effective offensive defenseman”.

The main area that Heinola needs to focus on is his speed. Hannah Stuart of The Score says:

A strong and agile skater, he could stand to improve his first step and get a bit quicker.

Ben Kerr agrees, saying:

His acceleration and speed are good but not great. He could stand to get a little quicker in his first few steps. Some work with a skating coach to improve his stride would also help him to be faster and more powerful.

Ville Heinola in action:

Ville Heinola and the Colorado Avalanche

If the Colorado Avalanche make the decision to draft Heinola higher than he’s predicted to be picked they’ll have another offensive defenseman on their roster, similar to Tyson Barrie.

Barrie, of course, has had an outstanding year with the Avalanche and smashed several franchise records this season. Whether the Avalanche need someone else with that style of play on their blue line I’m not so sure and it remains to be seen whether Heinola has the ability to reach the same level of play as Barrie.

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The 2019 NHL Draft takes place in Vancouver, with the first round on June 21 and the second round on June 22. The time for the first round hasn’t been announced, but I’m expected last year’s start time of 5:30 pm MT.

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