Introduction
The season started off quite well for Emil Heineman. He got to play good minutes for Leksand in the warm-up games, and with some players arriving late due to tax reasons, spots high in the lineup were open, which led to better deployment.
He then impressed during rookie camp and with the main NHL group. His shot really stood out, but his overall game found a better baseline on the smaller North American smaller ice sheet than the Olympic-sized ones.
His time in Montreal went from Heaven to Hell in a matter of a shift. In a pre-season game against Ottawa, an injury happened, and Heineman was sidelined for a month before returning to his SHL team in November.
Upon his return to Sweden, the international players had come into the lineup, and with the injury, Heineman didn’t get the chance to defend the roster spot he had during the pre-season games.
Swedish National Team coach Sam Hallam still called on the inexperienced player for his team for the Swiss Cup before Christmas. When surrounded by better players, Heineman found the net three times in three games, scoring more goals internationally than what he had in the SHL by that point.
With Leksand losing to Adam Engström’s Rögle in the play-in best-of-three series, the door to play in Laval opened up, and Heineman seized that opportunity with both hands. He scored seven seven goals in 11 games with the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL team, but, unfortunately for Laval, none in the playoffs.
The end-of-season performance showcased that Heineman is more suited to the North American brand of hockey, and thrives higher up in the lineup than what he was given in Sweden. It’s something Leksand’s coach, Björn Hellkvist, must have thought about during the summer, as his team couldn’t score in the last part of the season and fell from fifth place and a direct playoff spot to eighth in the standings. They had to face a resurgent Rögle, a team that in the end sent Leksand on early summer vacation.
Voting
Heineman came very close to being the first consensus Top 25 player this year, but with one vote at 26th, we will need to wait a bit longer to see that player.
T25U25 History
Patrik Bexell
He debuted at 24th last summer after being acquired in a trade, and after a year of paying more attention to him and seeing his arrival to North American, voters rose him up three spots.
History of #21
| Year | #21 |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Arber Xhekaj |
| 2021 | Gianni Fairbrother |
| 2020 | Sean Farrell |
| 2019 | Joni Ikonen / Jayden Struble |
| 2018 | Jacob Olofsson |
| 2017 | Martin Réway |
| 2016 | Simon Bourque |
| 2015 | Lukas Vejdemo |
| 2014 | Michael McCarron |
| 2013 | Greg Pateryn |
| 2012 | Darren Dietz |
| 2011 | Gabriel Dumont |
| 2010 | Mac Bennett |
Strengths
By now you know all about his top skill: his wicked shot. It has been described as “going through players rather than around them.” He can generate enormous pace on his wrist shot, while still being incredibly accurate. He is a veritable HIMARS system on the ice: velocity and accuracy being used with an impactful result. He does this from anywhere. From the blue line, half-wall, or from the home-plate area, Heineman lands his strikes.
In Laval, he showcased his blistering shot in all situations, but also showed off a bit more deception in his offence as well. The danger of his shot became readily apparent to teams on the power play, and his home in the faceoff dot soon saw opponents placed right in his way. He adjusted and put himself into other spots to jam in rebounds, in addition to ripping heaters past opposing goalies.
Make it two goals for Emil Heineman tonight!
3-1 Laval pic.twitter.com/DD3LY36iK5
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) March 29, 2023
His transition to the smaller rinks showed that his forechecking game is up to par. He can work hard, generate turnovers, and be an absolute menace to play against; strong attributes to build his came upon in the upcoming season.
Weaknesses
I come back to what I wrote last year: his defence is the thing holding him back. In Sweden he was a bit lost times, not knowing his position in relation to the net, and the players around him. He got frustrated and often chased the puck or puck-carrier.
The question was if he could keep up with the faster play on a smaller rink. He showed some improvement, but at times you still see the same mistakes on the defensive end of the puck. I am more optimistic than last year, but would say that he still lacks consistency in his own end.
He was involved plenty in Laval, but not always in helpful ways. The effort was encouraging, as it shows he isn’t lazy in the defensive zone, but he’ll have to continue working on his ability to process assignments and positioning to not become a liability.
Projection
A lot has been made of Heineman’s seven goals in 11 games, however his shooting percentage was over 20% at one point as he started his AHL tenure with those seven goals in his first seven matches, but finished the season at 17.5% after going goalless in his final six contests. That conversion rate was too high and regressed to a more reasonable number. With Heineman’s high-quality shot he will rank above average in that stat, but it is not realistic to expect Heineman’s shooting percentage to stay that high.
It isn’t unrealistic to think that Heineman might get to the NHL on his shot alone, and he would be a great complement to a toothless power play. If he can continue to add layers to his game like he was beginning to at the end of the year with Laval, he could become a solid middle-six addition for the NHL club.
His unique shot gives him a leg up on many in the Habs prospect pool, with few being able to match that quality at any level. Adding some defensive awareness is crucial, and that remains his biggest drawback right now.
If a coach wants his team to benefit from this shot, he will need to build the line to cover the potential weakness in Heineman’s game. You can’t put Heineman on a fourth line – a grater line and Leksand’s coach Hellqvist used to call it – and expect him to preform and generate the offence himself. If Heineman can learn to defend better and therefore earn time with better linemates, the road is open to that treasured NHL spot.
David St-Louis from Elite Prospects joins the podcast to discuss Jayden Struble and Heineman and what they need to improve to become NHL players and how close they are to the top league.
Justin Blades
