Player Discussion Danton Heinen

[Blowfish]

Very few players actually leave the team that drafted them, and I'm sure the B's are aware of the situation.

I'm sure the bruins are as are the prospects of taking advantage of their rights to explore...you have to believe this will be a trend moving forward given the contract and guaranteed ice time Vesey garnished. Yes the bruins have a good group of forwards however perhaps the CHL/European route is a better management of assets? It will be interesting to see how all this unfolds.

 

[TheBigBadB]

He's a better skater than Krejci.

Really? Hmm didn't seem to notice his speed that much at development camp. He just looked like a very controlled player when the puck was on his stick.

 

[Ratty]

Very few players actually leave the team that drafted them, and I'm sure the B's are aware of the situation.

But this should be a matter of concern in light of the Vesey situation. He enhanced his value greatly by remaining at Harvard.
I was really impressed by Ryan Donato at DC. Blidh, as noted above, may be a challenge to sign. Then, of course, is McAvoy followed by JFK and Fitzgerald. I hope the scouting and player development staff as well as Sweeney an JFerguson, Jr. are setting a plan to sign some of these prospects after this season, though I doubt Donato would leave early.

 

[Blowfish]

But this should be a matter of concern in light of the Vesey situation. He enhanced his value greatly by remaining at Harvard.
I was really impressed by Ryan Donato at DC. Blidh, as noted above, may be a challenge to sign. Then, of course, is McAvoy followed by JFK and Fitzgerald. I hope the scouting and player development staff as well as Sweeney an JFerguson, Jr. are setting a plan to sign some of these prospects after this season, though I doubt Donato would leave early.

It's a concern and major risk. Much like selecting Russian players.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Really? Hmm didn't seem to notice his speed that much at development camp. He just looked like a very controlled player when the puck was on his stick.

I have been watching him pretty regularly for two years. He's not a burner, but coming into the NHL, he is a much better skater than Krejci, who had to work with a skating coach just to the point where his skating was not a detriment.

But this should be a matter of concern in light of the Vesey situation. He enhanced his value greatly by remaining at Harvard.
I was really impressed by Ryan Donato at DC. Blidh, as noted above, may be a challenge to sign. Then, of course, is McAvoy followed by JFK and Fitzgerald. I hope the scouting and player development staff as well as Sweeney an JFerguson, Jr. are setting a plan to sign some of these prospects after this season, though I doubt Donato would leave early.

It's a concern and major risk. Much like selecting Russian players.

I assume you mean Bjork, not Blidh, who is already signed.


It's a concern, but not a MAJOR concern. You can count on one hand the players that have willingly avoided signing with the team that drafted them in the last few years.

Reilly
Vesey
Benning

I might be missing some, but not a lot? Not Russo. The Isles had a deep group of D prospects and elected not to sign him. He was eventually signed by DET, but not immediately.

I would guess that the B's have already had discussions with the NCAA players that fall into this category? If Bjork continues to develop, I would imagine the B's will try to sign him after the college season this year? He was a true freshman and cannot use the "Junior year loophole" that Benning did.

 

[SpitfireIX]

I have been watching him pretty regularly for two years. He's not a burner, but coming into the NHL, he is a much better skater than Krejci, who had to work with a skating coach just to the point where his skating was not a detriment.








I assume you mean Bjork, not Blidh, who is already signed.


It's a concern, but not a MAJOR concern. You can count on one hand the players that have willingly avoided signing with the team that drafted them in the last few years.

Reilly
Vesey
Benning

I might be missing some, but not a lot? Not Russo. The Isles had a deep group of D prospects and elected not to sign him. He was eventually signed by DET, but not immediately.

I would guess that the B's have already had discussions with the NCAA players that fall into this category? If Bjork continues to develop, I would imagine the B's will try to sign him after the college season this year? He was a true freshman and cannot use the "Junior year loophole" that Benning did.

Your missing the best one, top 5 pick Blake Wheeler. But don't feel bad, Brian Burke made the same mistake this summer when he said that Tyler Bozak has been the best college free agent signing...

To be quite honest the only College Free Agent who spurned his draft team of any real value has been Blake Wheeler. There is no evidence that Jimmy Vesey will be anything special. Both Justin Schultz and Matt Gilroy received similar hype and both of them did not meet expectations. People forget that the guy played several seasons at Harvard of course he would dominate when most of the better players who went the NCAA route and were the same age as him already left to pursue an NHL career ahead of him with the team that drafted them. Vesey will be another Kevin Hayes type 40-50 pt "meh" player. Now what I like is a guy like McAvoy who playes a hole season in the NCAA and steadily improves prior to his draft, that is impressive.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Your missing the best one, top 5 pick Blake Wheeler. But don't feel bad, Brian Burke made the same mistake this summer when he said that Tyler Bozak has been the best college free agent signing...

To be quite honest the only College Free Agent who spurned his draft team of any real value has been Blake Wheeler. There is no evidence that Jimmy Vesey will be anything special. Both Justin Schultz and Matt Gilroy received similar hype and both of them did not meet expectations. People forget that the guy played several seasons at Harvard of course he would dominate when most of the better players who went the NCAA route and were the same age as him already left to pursue an NHL career ahead of him with the team that drafted them. Vesey will be another Kevin Hayes type 40-50 pt "meh" player. Now what I like is a guy like McAvoy who playes a hole season in the NCAA and steadily improves prior to his draft, that is impressive.

I'm guessing the omission of Wheeler was intentional, as he specifically said "in the last few years", and Wheels signed with the B's in 2008.

 

[PB37]

It's a concern and major risk. Much like selecting Russian players.

How so? I can't recall the last Bruins college drafted player they couldn't sign. I know Benning is now Oilers property, but the Bruins didn't want to sign him this year while Benning did, so that example is completely irrelevant.

 

[TimThomas24]

How's he looked so far?

 

[TwineTickler]

How's he looked so far?

The head for the game is there.... I'm not sure the confidence is there quite yet at the NHL level. He's made some neat little plays and displayed good hockey sense, but I sense a lot of timidity in his game. I personally want to see a little more compete/confidence from Danton and then I think we will start to see him put it together a little more. It's early yet.

 

[Over the volcano]

How's he looked so far?

He is so subtle and solid in his game- unless you look for him you might not notice he's out there, but when you watch him he's pretty consistently in the right spot making the right play.

 

[PlayMakers]

The head for the game is there.... I'm not sure the confidence is there quite yet at the NHL level. He's made some neat little plays and displayed good hockey sense, but I sense a lot of timidity in his game. I personally want to see a little more compete/confidence from Danton and then I think we will start to see him put it together a little more. It's early yet.

I agree with this.

Although when I see the word timidity I think "afraid of contact" and I don't know if you meant it like that but I don't see that. If you meant it more along the lines of afraid to try things or afraid to look off players and call his own number, I agree.

He's made some good plays, even in the first 3 games. Last night was his best and he looked his most comfortable. He's smart and competent but last night was the first time we really saw him skate with the puck. That little play where he crossed the blue line and pulled up against the flow and then hit the late driving D across the blue line was very good. I think they're going to want to see more of that from him. If he's just competent but unproductive I think they'll send him back down to build some confidence and get his offensive game going. Last night was a good sign though. A big step.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I agree with this.

Although when I see the word timidity I think "afraid of contact" and I don't know if you meant it like that but I don't see that. If you meant it more along the lines of afraid to try things or afraid to look off players and call his own number, I agree.

He's made some good plays, even in the first 3 games. Last night was his best and he looked his most comfortable. He's smart and competent but last night was the first time we really saw him skate with the puck. That little play where he crossed the blue line and pulled up against the flow and then hit the late driving D across the blue line was very good. I think they're going to want to see more of that from him. If he's just competent but unproductive I think they'll send him back down to build some confidence and get his offensive game going. Last night was a good sign though. A big step.

He did this more than once last night, in addition to a play that was similar to the one against Byfuglien the other night. He picked up the puck in the NZ, drew the D to him, then chipped the puck to a linemate in stride creating an odd man rush. He sees the ice extremely well. This is a kid 4 games in, and he's only going to get better and more comfortable.

As much as I like his O game, I am more impressed with his defensive aptitude, which is often lacking in young players. He's not a hitter by any stretch, but he is good along the boards and has a "quick stick" as they say. His defensive positioning is very good in both the offensive and defensive zones, and he reads the play very well on the forecheck. Every time I watched him play at Denver, he would break up multiple plays when teams came out of their own end by getting a stick in the passing lane. Last night he did that several times on the forecheck.

I think the sky is the limit for Heinen and even when the B's are healthy, Vatrano is back, and Spooner is in the lineup, I want him playing over a guy like Hayes. Has the effort been there with Hayes so far? Yes, but he is what he is and I think Heinen gives you as much/more than Hayes even when he's skating hard.

 

[TwineTickler]

I agree with this.

Although when I see the word timidity I think "afraid of contact" and I don't know if you meant it like that but I don't see that. If you meant it more along the lines of afraid to try things or afraid to look off players and call his own number, I agree.

He's made some good plays, even in the first 3 games. Last night was his best and he looked his most comfortable. He's smart and competent but last night was the first time we really saw him skate with the puck. That little play where he crossed the blue line and pulled up against the flow and then hit the late driving D across the blue line was very good. I think they're going to want to see more of that from him. If he's just competent but unproductive I think they'll send him back down to build some confidence and get his offensive game going. Last night was a good sign though. A big step.

More or less the latter. I feel that he looks to defer when he gets the puck. A bit of a mindset of "I'm the new guy and theres David Krejci, let me give the puck to him right now".... that sort of thing. He's getting the most space of anyone on the first unit (rightfully so) and hasn't really attacked in situations where he could because I don't think he feels overly confident in doing that. He would rather defer and look for Bergeron at the bumper (even if maybe it's not the best decision) or send it back to Krug on the point. You can definitely see the smarts as evidenced by the play you described and a bunch of others I've seen, especially in the last two games but I just want to see a little less thinking and a little more doing/reacting etc.

 

[JoeIsAStud]

The head for the game is there.... I'm not sure the confidence is there quite yet at the NHL level. He's made some neat little plays and displayed good hockey sense, but I sense a lot of timidity in his game. I personally want to see a little more compete/confidence from Danton and then I think we will start to see him put it together a little more. It's early yet.

I can agree with this. He is not as aggressive on offense as he can and should be, and at times is not moving his feet. He looks more like Freshman year Heinen on offense than Sophmore year.

He has seemed better and more confident in the defensive zone than he has in the offensive end, which is surprising to me.

 

[pierre gagnon*]

Very smart player like Krejci. He is a lot better then I assumed he would playing without the puck. Claude has to like that and has his trust. Once he gains some experience and feels more comfortable and developes chemistry with his linemates it will only get better.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I can agree with this. He is not as aggressive on offense as he can and should be, and at times is not moving his feet. He looks more like Freshman year Heinen on offense than Sophmore year.

He has seemed better and more confident in the defensive zone than he has in the offensive end, which is surprising to me.

Doesn't really surprise me all that much. I watched him quite a bit for two seasons at Denver (on TV unfortunately) and he was always a very good 3 zone player there.

The thing I liked the most about Heinen was that coach Jim Montgomery (former Maine Black Bear) used him in every situation even as a freshman. PP, PK, up a goal in the last minute, down a goal in the last minute.

Last year, when I watched Michigan, Berenson never had Connor on the ice when they were up in close games at the end. While Heinen doesn't have Connor's offensive upside, this spoke volumes to me about what kind of all-around player Heinen could become.

Clode is going to love this kid, if he doesn't already.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Good game last night but hes not ready right now.


Thing with Heinen is he could end up being a contributor this year for us during the playoffs so its the right move to send him down for now. I don't think Spooner would have looked much better last night in the same role but it makes a lot more sense to play him over Heinen for now.


Vatrano/Debrusk/Heinen/Czarnik is some good young talent at forward.

 

[Gator Mike]

The points will come. He's doing too many things right to be held without a point for much longer.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

The points will come. He's doing too many things right to be held without a point for much longer.

I'm not so sure about this.


Its damned hard to score in the NHL the goalies are enormous defenders are fast and good and the ice sheet is tiny. Heinen has done nothing offensively other than shoot it at the goalies chest and make some simple passes. Hes not playing poorly but hes closer to Hayes right now than Pasternak in terms of likeliness to score. But it was definitely a good thing that he kept up and played well on a line with Krejci and Backes.


We're lucky Acciari and Schaller look so good we simply would not be a good team if we tried to round the forwards out with Hayes and offense first kids who are 1st/2nd year pros.

 

[ODAAT]

The head for the game is there.... I'm not sure the confidence is there quite yet at the NHL level. He's made some neat little plays and displayed good hockey sense, but I sense a lot of timidity in his game. I personally want to see a little more compete/confidence from Danton and then I think we will start to see him put it together a little more. It's early yet.

really liked his game vs the Devils, you can almost see he`s getting comfortable

Most impressive has been the little things he does, seems to make the safe play, doesn`t hurt the team. I haven`t a clue what his offensive upside is but I think it`ll come, in fact, calling his first to come tonight vs the Habs

He`s impressed without garnering headlines, quiet steady game

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

really liked his game vs the Devils, you can almost see he`s getting comfortable

Most impressive has been the little things he does, seems to make the safe play, doesn`t hurt the team. I haven`t a clue what his offensive upside is but I think it`ll come, in fact, calling his first to come tonight vs the Habs

He`s impressed without garnering headlines, quiet steady game

I wouldn't say he's impressed, but certainly looked better playing LW. Looking forward to seeing him in that spot more often, as I haven't a clue what his offensive upside is either.

 

[DitClapper]

I'd rather see Spooner there.

 

[What The Puck]

I would rather see Randell. Maybe I'm in the minority.

 

[Dellstrom]

You can tell by his game he's going to be a great player. Has the smarts for the game.

Most kids have all the skill in the world, but not enough I. It comes with experience a little bit, but you can't teach it... He just needs to refine his game a bit and pick up some confidence. If he needs to go to Providence for a while or even for the year, that's fine. He, management, and all of us should be very optimistic in what we're seeing.