Winnipeg’s Ville Heinola has now played in two games after his long NHL break. Another young Finn is also trying to make a breakthrough in the ranks of the top club.
Vile Heinola has been playing in the NHL since 2019, but hasn’t found a permanent place. The 23-year-old Finnish prospect already played eight matches in the 2019–2020 season after his reserve summer.
Heinola has played most of his North American years on the AHL side. The skilled puck defender has suffered from injuries, which have made it difficult to make a breakthrough.
Last season, Heinola broke his ankle in training camp, and he did not play in the NHL at all last season.
Also at the beginning of this season, the Finn got a setback, but now it looks brighter. A couple of days ago, Heinola played his first NHL game in almost two years against Philadelphia.
Heinola does not play in the back lines of any club, because Winnipeg is the hottest team in the NHL since the beginning of the season and is at the top of the entire series. Against Philadelphia, the ice time was a good 12 minutes.
In the night round against the Los Angeles Kings, the playing time increased to almost 14 minutes. If Heinola could finally establish his place in the NHL, he might even fight with Winnipeg for the championship in the spring.
Last season, Winnipeg lost to Colorado in the 1st round of the playoffs.
Räty is looking for a breakthrough
Along with Heinola, another young Finnish player is also trying to secure a permanent place for himself in the NHL’s top team.
The 22-year-old of the Vancouver Canucks Aatu Räty has taken a slot from the lower slots. The young center played a total of 15 regular season games for the Islanders and Vancouver last season, while now they have already accumulated 14 this season.
Räty, who plays as Vancouver’s four center, scored his second goal of the season in the night round, when the Canadian team lost to Pittsburgh 4-5.
Räty has scored three points in his early season games. Against Pittsburgh, he got 11 minutes of playing time.
Before the season, Vancouver was considered one of the favorites in the Western Conference. A year ago, in the semifinals of the Western Conference, it offered tough opposition to the Edmonton Oilers, who eventually played in the Stanley Cup finals.