Player Discussion: Heinola Thread

[surixon]

The funny thing is that I clearly remember Maurice saying that as certain levels of skilled players get injured, a comprable player will be called up to replace them.

When Pionk went down it should have been Heinola to replace him, with Wheeler out it should be Perfetti to replace him.

So far Boolio is the only person brought in. A completely different type of player.

You can’t bring in these highly skilled young guys and put them on an ‘energy’ or ‘grinder’ line.

I never buy what Maurice says when he talks about his call ups. Only one time did he actually do this and that was when Conner replaced Perrault.

All the bother times he just advanced one of his vets from the bottom 6 into the top 6 or a fringe dmen was inserted into the roster.

 

[DRW204]

It is not only that Makar/Byram/Newhook were integrated into the roster - it is very much a matter of HOW they were integrated. They did not have to go through some ritualistic process of playing as 3rd pair defenders and/or 4th line grinders to somehow "earn" their ice time. They did not have to gain the coach's trust by first showing that they could survive in a position not well suited to them and one that they would not ultimately play.

And yet this is precisely how Maurice functions.

yup. makar as soon as he signed his contract was an every-day contributor to the nhl. heinola hasn't been able to play over the likes of poolman, beaulieu, sbisa, bitetto, forbort et al. now that our d group is better he's going to have a tougher time b/c of the money being dolled out and vet status. guy has been playing pro-hockey since 17 years old. played strongly in every level to boot as well.

You nailed it. It’s xenophobia. Gus and perfetti have the exact same draft pedigree and there is no pressure to play the guy who is our highest draft pick in 5 years. Fans weren’t salivating for it.
End of the day Mo will always play the vet when given the choice. I don't agree with that choice, I think Gus should have played, I just don't think it's a bigger pattern of hatred towards a group of players because of where they are from.

lol what are you even going on about now? at first debuts don't matter now it does all of a sudden? they threw perfetti and his family a bone even though it was made up prior to the year never going to be in the nhl this season. highly doubtful they're succumbing to fan pressure, they didn't even play at home which would have been more significant or satisfying for fans.

 

[DRW204]

Exactly, I would have preferred that he stayed in the AHL myself. I don't see what he's going to gain be going to a lower level of competition in a less structured environment.

imo, if players like jarvis and lundell can make contributions to 2 already stacked teams and hover around 0.5ppg, there's no reason we can't do the same w/ perfetti.

unfortunately, no matter how perfetti performed, he was never going to be an nhler this year

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The only way you get depth in the NHL is by ELCs. You're not going to pass a player of those caliber players through waivers. So it's nice to say bring these guys up, let em have it, but really what happens when the injury bug or the Covid bug hits? Because the layers of players behind them are all 2nd tier.

If we went by TC the only guy who really won a spot is Gustafsson. I thought Perfetti, was ok, but looked too timid for the NHL. I thought Heinola looked off. So you keep their game growing. And these players can grow in the AHL because they can take up all the key ice times. Furthermore they get more ice time. I'm not expecting Heinola to be out in any late game situations, nor currently with the players we have would I expect Heinola to get PP time. Wasting a year of Perfetti's contract to get mediocre results is bad management.

I think a lot of fans have a hard time grasping the development side of draft and development.

No argument about TC. I didn't expect much different. I hoped Heinola and Perfetti would do better and claim spots, but hoping is different than expecting.

But Nash has already been waived and Beaulieu should have been waived long ago. There were plenty of better options for a #7 D for less cap hit, including some with the Moose.

 

[jetsmooseice]

imo, if players like jarvis and lundell can make contributions to 2 already stacked teams and hover around 0.5ppg, there's no reason we can't do the same w/ perfetti.

unfortunately, no matter how perfetti performed, he was never going to be an nhler this year

It will be hard to watch Dylan Cozens tonight and not wonder what might have been/what still could be.

 

[ello]

Exactly, that was what I meant when I said we have stopped caring about integrating our talented young players and living with their arcs. Prior to 2018 we had no issue putting Conner, Laine, Morrissey etc into key roles and letting them learn (because it was forced on Moe by management).

Since then it's been as you've said the player starts on the bottom pairing/line and has to show they can cut their teeth their before they move up. The players more often then not also don't get any special teams time until the coach is good and ready to trust them which even in the case where he warms up fairly quickly its still a half a season before.

I mean they started Perfetti this year on a checking line without pp time. Granted I don't think Moe wanted Cole on the team to begin with but Cole kept playing well despite playing with largely AHL players in camp so he had no choice. But still if you have a player that can help your pp why the heck not trial him there especially with Scheifele out for a game. To me it's just a fundamental issue of Moe allowing politics and seniority to overrule proper player evaluation and usage.

What have we seen this year with our poor special teams. Moe has insisted on putting non talented hacks like Nash and to a lesser extent Lowry on the pp instead of more skilled players like Ves/Svech. Any wonder with that elite talent evaluation that out special teams have struggled this year.

I honestly wish that we never got away from that early philosophy, it lead to our best ever results. This org since trying to win has not been nearly as successful.

I feel like you're looking a bit too hard to find fault with Maurice here, IMO. Perfetti hardly forced anyone's hand at the beginning of the regular season to stay in the NHL and Heinola was genuinely pretty poor in TC. I see no reason why Maurice would have a sudden change in philosophy with how to integrate his young players and frankly, our most recent prospects aren't quite as the same level as some of the first round picks we've been blessed with like Connor, Laine and Morrissey. People were blasting him similarly for how he managed Niku (who put up similar numbers as Heinola is in the AHL) and Petan yet look how their careers have panned out.

I for one still want Maurice gone. I think we need a new voice and he's a poor strategist in my opinion, but I feel like he's been more than fair with our recent prospects. You used the Avs as an example of how young players should be brought in, but Byram and Makar are just better players than any of our prospects and Newhook is much more physically mature and explosive than Perfetti is.

 

[DRW204]

It will be hard to watch Dylan Cozens tonight and not wonder what might have been/what still could be.

i bring up lundell and jarvis b/c they're on top NHL teams where they already have strong forward or offensive depth. BUF doesn't have that so they do need Cozens to be a contributor.

But if a team like FLA w/ Barkov, Huberdeau, Carter V, Hornqvist, Bennett, Reinhart, Duclair et al can use Lundell as essentially a regular this season, there's no reason we cannot either. Especially given our lack of goal scoring outside of our top 2 lines (& ditto for CAR/Jarvis).

 

[voyageur]

No argument about TC. I didn't expect much different. I hoped Heinola and Perfetti would do better and claim spots, but hoping is different than expecting.

But Nash has already been waived and Beaulieu should have been waived long ago. There were plenty of better options for a #7 D for less cap hit, including some with the Moose.

Nash being waved is a glimmer of hope for Gustafsson, who should have a spot. Beaulieu was solidly entrenched at #7, as a veteran was going to have the spot, which has included long stints in the PB. And as I pointed out in the anti-Beaulieu thread, Jets have a 6-2-2 record deploying 7 d-men this year, including Beaulieu, and a winning record with Beaulieu in the lineup, which they also did last year. Beaulieu isn't that far off from taking Stanley's spot, since PK is the issue, the way things are playing out.

The only player I could conceive in that 7 spot is Johnny K. But he'll get his chance yet. The Jets have been remarkably healthy, until Wheeler's injury, knock on wood.

 

[surixon]

i bring up lundell and jarvis b/c they're on top NHL teams where they already have strong forward or offensive depth. BUF doesn't have that so they do need Cozens to be a contributor.

But if a team like FLA w/ Barkov, Huberdeau, Carter V, Hornqvist, Bennett, Reinhart, Duclair et al can use Lundell as essentially a regular this season, there's no reason we cannot either. Especially given our lack of goal scoring outside of our top 2 lines (& ditto for CAR/Jarvis).

I fully agree, add in a mediocre pp and there is certainly a spot for Cole on this team after the WJC. Nobody is expecting him to come in and dominate the NHL but there is no reason he can't be a good secondary scoring piece next to one of our established offensive players.

Anyhow it's a moot point now as he's at the WJC for the next month so the team will have to find a way to run a good PP and get some additional depth scoring without Blake.

 

[snowkiddin]

I feel like you're looking a bit too hard to find fault with Maurice here, IMO. Perfetti hardly forced anyone's hand at the beginning of the regular season to stay in the NHL and Heinola was genuinely pretty poor in TC. I see no reason why Maurice would have a sudden change in philosophy with how to integrate his young players and frankly, our most recent prospects aren't quite as the same level as some of the first round picks we've been blessed with like Connor, Laine and Morrissey. People were blasting him similarly for how he managed Niku (who put up similar numbers as Heinola is in the AHL) and Petan yet look how their careers have panned out.

I for one still want Maurice gone. I think we need a new voice and he's a poor strategist in my opinion, but I feel like he's been more than fair with our recent prospects. You used the Avs as an example of how young players should be brought in, but Byram and Makar are just better players than any of our prospects and Newhook is much more physically mature and explosive than Perfetti is.

I think the issue isn’t as much as whether or not we play our prospects in the NHL or the AHL as much as where we play them when we have them.

Why is Heinola eating popcorn instead of playing (in either the AHL or the NHL)? How does that help his development? Why is Perfetti playing on the checking line with Lowry? He should be in the top six, otherwise might as well send him down.

I think that’s the issue when it comes to Maurice. We’ll have prospects on the roster but Maurice seemingly has a phobia when it comes to trusting prospects so they remain in the press box or cut their teeth with minimal ice time in roles they aren’t suited for.

 

[voyageur]

I fully agree, add in a mediocre pp and there is certainly a spot for Cole on this team after the WJC. Nobody is expecting him to come in and dominate the NHL but there is no reason he can't be a good secondary scoring piece next to one of our established offensive players.

Anyhow it's a moot point now as he's at the WJC for the next month so the team will have to find a way to run a good PP and get some additional depth scoring without Blake.

A mediocre PP is better than a disastrous PK. There's only one PP spot available with Wheeler out, and it would be nice if someone like Svetchnikov or Vesalainen or Harkins got a shot on it first, since they have worked their way on to the team. Hell there isn't even room for Heinola on it, unless you used 2 defenseman per unit. I just hope that Wheeler's injury puts Connor back in the triggerman spot.

I'd like to see what Gustafsson can do for the PK once the Jets can call up a player again. Because the PK is probably the biggest obstacle to success, can't expect to go each game without drawing a penalty, as much as the Jets try.

There's a good chance that Gustafsson's net game exceeds Beaulieu's impact in terms of roster management.

I honestly think the Jets are quite happy to give both Heinola and Perfetti a full developmental year, against legit AHL talent (as opposed to last year, with taxi squads filtering it out), and have them grow as players, with coaches that can address the things they need to improve on, which can't be done when you are coaching to win, and keep your job, in the big show.

 

[surixon]

A mediocre PP is better than a disastrous PK. There's only one PP spot available with Wheeler out, and it would be nice if someone like Svetchnikov or Vesalainen or Harkins got a shot on it first, since they have worked their way on to the team. Hell there isn't even room for Heinola on it, unless you used 2 defenseman per unit. I just hope that Wheeler's injury puts Connor back in the triggerman spot.

I'd like to see what Gustafsson can do for the PK once the Jets can call up a player again. Because the PK is probably the biggest obstacle to success, can't expect to go each game without drawing a penalty, as much as the Jets try.

There's a good chance that Gustafsson's net game exceeds Beaulieu's impact in terms of roster management.

I honestly think the Jets are quite happy to give both Heinola and Perfetti a full developmental year, against legit AHL talent (as opposed to last year, with taxi squads filtering it out), and have them grow as players, with coaches that can address the things they need to improve on, which can't be done when you are coaching to win, and keep your job, in the big show.

You can address both areas. The two aren't mutually exclusive. There is most certainly more then one PP spot that should be available. We have been dressing Lowry and Nash on the second unit. You can't tell me that we couldn't use more skill on our second unit.

I also don't believe our pk is a personnel issue but a philosophical one. When it is aggressive it performs significantly better. Gus won't do anything to change our PK if it it's passive as it's been moat of the year.

See I don't subscribe to the notion of using players on special teams because they've worked their way onto the team or they have seniority and they should be given a bone as a result. Use the best person for the job period, roster status shouldn't matter. Ves and Harkins should be on the PK based on past accomplishments on the Moose and if you bring Cole up again he should get PP time as he can help it now. None of this well he has to earn his stripes before he gets that usage nonsense. None of the best teams integrate their best young players like that.

I'm fairly certain Chevy wanted Ville to play last year and Moe pushed back and got his way. If he keeps pushing back on playing our best young players in favor of junk he should be shown the door.

I don't disagree that some AHL time is beneficial but if your already dominating it then how much left is there really to learn? Imo neither Cole or Ville have much more runway left there.

 

[voyageur]

You can address both areas. The two aren't mutually exclusive. There is most certainly more then one PP spot that should be available. We have been dressing Lowry and Nash on the second unit. You can't tell me that we couldn't use more skill on our second unit.

I also don't believe our pk is a personnel issue but a philosophical one. When it is aggressive it performs significantly better. Gus won't do anything to change our PK if it it's passive as it's been moat of the year.

See I don't subscribe to the notion of using players on special teams because they've worked their way onto the team or they have seniority and they should be given a bone as a result. Use the best person for the job period, roster status shouldn't matter. Ves and Harkins should be on the PK based on past accomplishments on the Moose and if you bring Cole up again he should get PP time as he can help it now. None of this well he has to earn his stripes before he gets that usage nonsense. None of the best teams integrate their best young players like that.

I'm fairly certain Chevy wanted Ville to play last year and Moe pushed back and got his way. If he keeps pushing back on playing our best young players in favor of junk he should be shown the door.

I don't disagree that some AHL time is beneficial but if your already dominating it then how much left is there really to learn? Imo neither Cole or Ville have much more runway left there.

By the sounds of what Dubois was saying there are things that Heinola needs to learn defensively to be more successful. Which sounds like management decisions to send him to the A.

Perfetti actually got a look to start the year, and was so timid of contact that he was ineffective.

So not just maturity on a skill level basis but physical maturity is necessary. Because the flip side of saying so and so young player is ready because they are having success at the AHL level is promoting them and having them get injured because they weren't physically ready.

If you look at time lines for similar players, I would say Scheifele was 20, and Morrissey was 21, when they made the show. And both turned out good in their development path. Perfetti would be in junior if not for Covid, and the point would be moot, so at this point I don't see a reason to rush. Playing at a higher level, will bring the player to a higher level, in the end game. Which also revolves around managing contracts. If we get 5-10 points out of Cole at the NHL level in 3 months, is it worth burning a year of his contract? Or having him in the Calder conversation for next year?

 

[surixon]

By the sounds of what Dubois was saying there are things that Heinola needs to learn defensively to be more successful. Which sounds like management decisions to send him to the A.

Perfetti actually got a look to start the year, and was so timid of contact that he was ineffective.

So not just maturity on a skill level basis but physical maturity is necessary. Because the flip side of saying so and so young player is ready because they are having success at the AHL level is promoting them and having them get injured because they weren't physically ready.

If you look at time lines for similar players, I would say Scheifele was 20, and Morrissey was 21, when they made the show. And both turned out good in their development path. Perfetti would be in junior if not for Covid, and the point would be moot, so at this point I don't see a reason to rush. Playing at a higher level, will bring the player to a higher level, in the end game. Which also revolves around managing contracts. If we get 5-10 points out of Cole at the NHL level in 3 months, is it worth burning a year of his contract? Or having him in the Calder conversation for next year?

I think you are using two games to form your opinion on a player not being ready and that is far too small a sample size.

He looked very good in game 1 but looked timid in game 2 and was ineffective in game two. There is always going to be an NHL learning curve with each young player. Scheifele for comparison looked pretty bad his first 20 games as a rookie before finding his game and never looking back as a top 6 caliber player.

Perfetti has shown he can more then handle the physical aspect of the AHL what he'll need to go through whether this year or next year is acclimatization himself to the speed of NHL hockey. I'm not concerned about the physical aspect. I'm not really sure why the Scheifele comp is used for Cole anyhow as Cole had a better year in his draft year then Mark ever had in the OHL. They aren't remotely comparable in terms of where each was in their respective development arcs. Perfetti dominating the AHL as a teenager is another differentiator. Ehlers is the closer CHL comp but he didnt have the luxury of playing in the AHL as 19 year old so they placed him in the NHL as he was far too good for junior. I also fail to see the contract angle as this team is now in contention mode and will have millions off the books the summer they'd need to reup him. They should be doing everything they can to win this year and the next two. If Cole helps them do that the hell with burning a year on his ELC.

Yeah the coach mentioned working on things with Heinola, I would hope they are working on things with all prospects. Players continuously have things they constantly need to work on, no player enters the NHL as being perfect with zero flaws. I fail to see how needing to work on x or y precludes a player from being able to play in the NHL and have success. Look across our NHL roster to a man they all have areas they need to work on. The question is do their strengths outweigh their weaknesses and are they a net positive.

 

[voyageur]

I think you are using two games to form your opinion on a player not being ready and that is far too small a sample size.

He looked very good in game 1 but looked timid in game 2 and was ineffective in game two. There is always going to be an NHL learning curve with each young player. Scheifele for comparison looked pretty bad his first 20 games as a rookie before finding his game and never looking back as a top 6 caliber player.

Perfetti has shown he can more then handle the physical aspect of the AHL what he'll need to go through whether this year or next year is acclimatization himself to the speed of NHL hockey. I'm not concerned about the physical aspect.

Yeah the coach mentioned working on things with Heinola, I would hope they are working on things with all prospects. Players continuously have things they constantly need to work on, no player enters the NHL as being perfect with zero flaws. I fail to see how needing to work on x or y precludes a player from being able to play in the NHL and have success. Look across our NHL roster toan they all have areas they need to work on. The question is do their strengths outweigh their weaknesses and are they a net positive.

Neither address the PK, which is an ongoing problem. The Jets went from 13th best PK in the NHL, in Lowry's first year, at times a top 10 unit, to 31st. Granted Americans teams are better than the Habs, Canucks and Sens of last year, but some of that is the loss of key personnel. Appleton, Lewis, Thompson, Forbort and Poolman. Appleton and Poolman in particular were effective players developed by the Moose. You say Heinola is getting PK time on the Moose? I hope he is because that's another element that he can bring to the next level, when he gets there. That he wouldn't have if he is called up now.

I wouldn't mind giving Perfetti another look while Wheeler is out, after the Juniors run, the Jets can afford a couple of games and maybe as many as 6 if he shows something, but I don't think the Jets plan on wasting an ELC year on his contract because of fan pressure. The kid has got to be as good as you say, and not what I saw.

 

[surixon]

Neither address the PK, which is an ongoing problem. The Jets went from 13th best PK in the NHL, in Lowry's first year, at times a top 10 unit, to 31st. Granted Americans teams are better than the Habs, Canucks and Sens of last year, but some of that is the loss of key personnel. Appleton, Lewis, Thompson, Forbort and Poolman. Appleton and Poolman in particular were effective players developed by the Moose. You say Heinola is getting PK time on the Moose? I hope he is because that's another element that he can bring to the next level, when he gets there. That he wouldn't have if he is called up now.

I wouldn't mind giving Perfetti another look while Wheeler is out, after the Juniors run, the Jets can afford a couple of games and maybe as many as 6 if he shows something, but I don't think the Jets plan on wasting an ELC year on his contract because of fan pressure. The kid has got to be as good as you say, and not what I saw.

The fans won't pressure this org into doing anything.

Also why doesn't Heinola address the PK, he plays big PK minutes on the second best AHL PK. He is no less a contributor to its success then Gus. IF Maurice doesn't call him up because he doesn't feel he can help it then that is much more an indictment of the coach then the player. But that wouldn't surprise me as I don't believe Moe has a hot clue how to coach a PK nor does he have a hot clue what a good pk player looks like and this goes back years.

Clearly you only bring the player up if you are willing to put him in a role where he can use his strengths and get confident. Perfetti on shift overlaps set up 3 scoring chances in the the 30 seconds to a minute over the two games he was on the ice with other top 6 players. I'd like to see what he could do for a small handful of games with those player types. Maybe he gets some confidence and quickly adapts and never looks back ala Conner. Conner also didn't make that leap until he got to play with some highly skilled players who could carry the load for him while he adapted. He much like Cole looked lost in the bottom 6 on checking lines.

 

[Slimy Sculpin]

A mediocre PP is better than a disastrous PK. There's only one PP spot available with Wheeler out, and it would be nice if someone like Svetchnikov or Vesalainen or Harkins got a shot on it first, since they have worked their way on to the team. Hell there isn't even room for Heinola on it, unless you used 2 defenseman per unit. I just hope that Wheeler's injury puts Connor back in the triggerman spot.

I'd like to see what Gustafsson can do for the PK once the Jets can call up a player again. Because the PK is probably the biggest obstacle to success, can't expect to go each game without drawing a penalty, as much as the Jets try.

There's a good chance that Gustafsson's net game exceeds Beaulieu's impact in terms of roster management.

I honestly think the Jets are quite happy to give both Heinola and Perfetti a full developmental year, against legit AHL talent (as opposed to last year, with taxi squads filtering it out), and have them grow as players, with coaches that can address the things they need to improve on, which can't be done when you are coaching to win, and keep your job, in the big show.

Although I don't always agree with you, your points here and elsewhere on this board are well thought out and presented. Yes, the PK is the key for this team. Based on the last couple of games, they may be getting better. However, currently, they are near the bottom of the league in PK success (%) and a dramatic improvement is required if they have any hope of making the playoffs this season.

 

[voyageur]

The fans won't pressure this org into doing anything.

Also why doesn't Heinola address the PK, he plays big PK minutes on the second best AHL PK. He is no less a contributor to its success then Gus. IF Maurice doesn't call him up because he doesn't feel he can help it then that is much more an indictment of the coach then the player. But that wouldn't surprise me as I don't believe Moe has a hot clue how to coach a PK nor does he have a hot clue what a good pk player looks like and this goes back years.

Clearly you only bring the player up if you are willing to put him in a role where he can use his strengths and get confident. Perfetti on shift overlaps set up 3 scoring chances in the the 30 seconds to a minute over the two games he was on the ice with other top 6 players. I'd like to see what he could do for a small handful of games with those player types. Maybe he gets some confidence and quickly adapts and never looks back ala Conner. Conner also didn't make that leap until he got to play with some highly skilled players who could carry the load for him while he adapted. He much like Cole looked lost in the bottom 6 on checking lines.

You follow the Moose closer than me, can you tell me how Heinola is contributing as much as Gustafsson? I haven't seen a game except on AHL TV and highlights, but I thought the first unit was Gustafsson and Reichel at forward, and those would be my first 2 choices of callups at forward, because both are mature, both would be expected to contribute to a special team weakness. On defense I was under the impression that Samberg and Kovacevic were first unit, and that Heinola was on the 2nd? Is it possible that the Jets want to give Heinola more time in the A, to be a well developed player who contributes in all facets like Morrissey, because he seems to be following the same time frame?

As for getting Perfetti in the top 6, the only player I would suggest at this time that gets demoted is Stastny. And people are still clamouring for Svetchnikov, who has produced results, in that spot. Stastny however on the wing addresses the weakness of Dubois, faceoffs, which is no small impact in a game. Also Stastny makes a lot of plays with physicality, which allows the puck to get into shooters hands. This is where I see Perfetti still needing development. Because the guys like Connor and Ehlers, are the guys you want to have the puck in scoring positions, and that's not always attainable with talent, sometimes it takes some digging. Maurice is going back to Connor-Scheifele-Copp line that had a 3 goal, nearly 4 goal game, last time they were together. I can't argue with that.

I think you make a lot of valid points as well, I am just more of an old school hockey fan I suppose. I don't mind a strong checking line, because that can win you playoff series. Especially if you can matchup your checking line centre against the best player in the league and not lose that matchup. Makes it easier for top 2 scoring lines.

 

[surixon]

You follow the Moose closer than me, can you tell me how Heinola is contributing as much as Gustafsson? I haven't seen a game except on AHL TV and highlights, but I thought the first unit was Gustafsson and Reichel at forward, and those would be my first 2 choices of callups at forward, because both are mature, both would be expected to contribute to a special team weakness. On defense I was under the impression that Samberg and Kovacevic were first unit, and that Heinola was on the 2nd? Is it possible that the Jets want to give Heinola more time in the A, to be a well developed player who contributes in all facets like Morrissey, because he seems to be following the same time frame?

As for getting Perfetti in the top 6, the only player I would suggest at this time that gets demoted is Stastny. And people are still clamouring for Svetchnikov, who has produced results, in that spot. Stastny however on the wing addresses the weakness of Dubois, faceoffs, which is no small impact in a game. Also Stastny makes a lot of plays with physicality, which allows the puck to get into shooters hands. This is where I see Perfetti still needing development. Because the guys like Connor and Ehlers, are the guys you want to have the puck in scoring positions, and that's not always attainable with talent, sometimes it takes some digging. Maurice is going back to Connor-Scheifele-Copp line that had a 3 goal, nearly 4 goal game, last time they were together. I can't argue with that.

I think you make a lot of valid points as well, I am just more of an old school hockey fan I suppose. I don't mind a strong checking line, because that can win you playoff series. Especially if you can matchup your checking line centre against the best player in the league and not lose that matchup. Makes it easier for top 2 scoring lines.

Good post. I don't mind the concept of a checking line I just prefer a balanced top 9.

As for Heionla on the PK he quickly closes on players and is in good position and anticipates and disrupts the setup well. A lot like how JoMo kills penalties.

One of the reasons I wouldn't mind Cole up is to learn from Paul as like you mentioned he does a lot of smart things thay an intelligent player like Cole will soak up and add to his game. With regards to the physicality of the NHL that is something that he will only be able to learn playing against NHL competition. He's already very good I traffic at the AHL level and does a lot of that digging you need.

 

[BoneDocUK]

You follow the Moose closer than me, can you tell me how Heinola is contributing as much as Gustafsson? I haven't seen a game except on AHL TV and highlights, but I thought the first unit was Gustafsson and Reichel at forward, and those would be my first 2 choices of callups at forward, because both are mature, both would be expected to contribute to a special team weakness. On defense I was under the impression that Samberg and Kovacevic were first unit, and that Heinola was on the 2nd? Is it possible that the Jets want to give Heinola more time in the A, to be a well developed player who contributes in all facets like Morrissey, because he seems to be following the same time frame?

As for getting Perfetti in the top 6, the only player I would suggest at this time that gets demoted is Stastny. And people are still clamouring for Svetchnikov, who has produced results, in that spot. Stastny however on the wing addresses the weakness of Dubois, faceoffs, which is no small impact in a game. Also Stastny makes a lot of plays with physicality, which allows the puck to get into shooters hands. This is where I see Perfetti still needing development. Because the guys like Connor and Ehlers, are the guys you want to have the puck in scoring positions, and that's not always attainable with talent, sometimes it takes some digging. Maurice is going back to Connor-Scheifele-Copp line that had a 3 goal, nearly 4 goal game, last time they were together. I can't argue with that.

I think you make a lot of valid points as well, I am just more of an old school hockey fan I suppose. I don't mind a strong checking line, because that can win you playoff series. Especially if you can matchup your checking line centre against the best player in the league and not lose that matchup. Makes it easier for top 2 scoring lines.

Do you mean on special teams specifically? I'd say the Moose don't really run a 1/2 PP or especially /PK, since they're cycling through too quickly. It's more a matter of finding some complementary units and then letting them run in for a bit before switching things up -- b/c it's a dev environment with winning as a secondary aim, you're going to see the blue-chip prospects moving around more than the AHL pros who are mentoring them so they become as flexible as possible in terms of skills and adaptability. Their PK is all about speed, pressure, exit options and short shifts.

Gus is an absolute ace on special teams. He's smart, quick, big and skilled enough to make plays or disrupt them and he is basically as error-free a player as you're likely to find in the game of hockey -- reminds me in that respect of prime Enstrom. He is a VERY hard player to get past in the zone and he is excellent at digging and releasing pucks.

Heinola's anticipation is elite, and he is very disruptive on the PK -- gets his stick into shooting lanes and is aggressive at closing down puck carriers and retrieving and exiting quickly. Opposing teams rarely get the chance to set up in the Moose zone, and when they do it isn't for long. He too is quite Enstrom-like and prime JMo-like in his positioning and attention to detail and high-level ability to see potential routes and plays well ahead of the game, although he def isn't there yet.

Heinola seems to play less visible "defence" because when he's on the ice the Moose usually have and keep the puck. Gus is an all-situations workhorse who has a ton of physical presence on a PK but the whole team is playing the same press and interrupt system. No one freelances. No one floats. There really aren't any obviously weak links although there are obviously pretty big gaps between skills. Everybody does everything. That's a testament to coaching and team buy-in, IMO that the Jets could learn from.

 

[Jack7222]

Gus is an absolute ace on special teams. He's smart, quick, big and skilled enough to make plays or disrupt them and he is basically as error-free a player as you're likely to find in the game of hockey -- reminds me in that respect of prime Enstrom. He is a VERY hard player to get past in the zone and he is excellent at digging and releasing pucks.

Such an underrated and difficult to notice quality in a fast game like hockey. Massive fan of Enstrom and I've been admiring this in Demelo as well.

 

[Adam da bomb]

Do you mean on special teams specifically? I'd say the Moose don't really run a 1/2 PP or especially /PK, since they're cycling through too quickly. It's more a matter of finding some complementary units and then letting them run in for a bit before switching things up -- b/c it's a dev environment with winning as a secondary aim, you're going to see the blue-chip prospects moving around more than the AHL pros who are mentoring them so they become as flexible as possible in terms of skills and adaptability. Their PK is all about speed, pressure, exit options and short shifts.

Gus is an absolute ace on special teams. He's smart, quick, big and skilled enough to make plays or disrupt them and he is basically as error-free a player as you're likely to find in the game of hockey -- reminds me in that respect of prime Enstrom. He is a VERY hard player to get past in the zone and he is excellent at digging and releasing pucks.

Heinola's anticipation is elite, and he is very disruptive on the PK -- gets his stick into shooting lanes and is aggressive at closing down puck carriers and retrieving and exiting quickly. Opposing teams rarely get the chance to set up in the Moose zone, and when they do it isn't for long. He too is quite Enstrom-like and prime JMo-like in his positioning and attention to detail and high-level ability to see potential routes and plays well ahead of the game, although he def isn't there yet.

Heinola seems to play less visible "defence" because when he's on the ice the Moose usually have and keep the puck. Gus is an all-situations workhorse who has a ton of physical presence on a PK but the whole team is playing the same press and interrupt system. No one freelances. No one floats. There really aren't any obviously weak links although there are obviously pretty big gaps between skills. Everybody does everything. That's a testament to coaching and team buy-in, IMO that the Jets could learn from.

Poor time to point to morrissey as risk free. Morrissey’s play and poor pinches and turnovers were on full display last night. His play pretty much led to their 4th goal.

 

[BoneDocUK]

Such an underrated and difficult to notice quality in a fast game like hockey. Massive fan of Enstrom and I've been admiring this in Demelo as well.

Absolutely, and likewise. Lots to love in low-event players who reliably and efficiently get the job done under pretty much any condition while making their pairing or linemates better.

 

[surixon]

Poor time to point to morrissey as risk free. Morrissey’s play and poor pinches and turnovers were on full display last night. His play pretty much led to their 4th goal.

He didn't have a great night but all players have off games. The fourth goal was more Dubois then Morrissey though. JoMo stepped up and Dubois should have then rotated out of the zone when that happened instead of also going after the guy.

The miscommunication is just par for the course though this year on this team.

 

[BoneDocUK]

Remember this kid?

Quick thread bump b/c Murat had some thoughts on the Heinola situation in a recent article that I thought some might find interesting (my paste here is under the 10% rule):

In some ways, Heinola’s situation in Winnipeg is complex. He would have played the night Samberg and Declan Chisholm made their NHL debuts if not for his poorly timed arrival in COVID protocol. Last season, the Jets had a short window to return him to the AHL (when the Jets and Moose were in the same city) but chose to keep Heinola on their taxi squad. They didn’t choose to play him, meaning that he went more than a month without playing a game at any level during a prime developmental season. The men he gave up those minutes to — Tucker Poolman, Derek Forbort, Jordie Benn — are long gone. Beaulieu is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and could follow their paths.

So, yes, Heinola could easily be roughly 50 games into his NHL career.

All that it would take is somebody in the Jets organization — head coach, defensive coach, general manager — to say, “Hey, wait a minute. Why don’t we commit actual NHL playing time to this high-end prospect who is dominant at the AHL level?”

Was the gap in performance between Benn and Heinola so big last season that it would have cost the Jets more one year ago than they could gain right now?
I don’t think so.

[...]

Stanley has had his struggles (and is presently hurt.) Samberg has shown well enough during limited minutes to receive exactly the same treatment I’m arguing Heinola should get: enough minutes to keep his development moving forward — no more, no less.

Beaulieu isn’t going to help the Jets win a Stanley Cup in 2022-23 or 2023-24 — the last two seasons of the Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele and Wheeler contracts.
Heinola probably can.
There’s only one way to find out.

Even a three-man, third-pairing rotation of Heinola, Samberg and Stanley would be more beneficial to the Jets’ long-term ambitions than continued usage of Beaulieu, particularly at a $1.25 million cap hit.

Thus far, Heinola has yet to convince Lowry (or Charlie Huddy or Paul Maurice) that he’s effective enough with the puck to warrant those minutes.
So maybe it’s on him.
Or maybe he’s paying the sub-6-foot tax, despite his obvious talents.