The greatest Finnish player in team history has high hopes for a future Finnish star in Dallas.
In town for his jersey retirement ceremony Jere Lehtinen, who is now the general manager for the Finnish National Team, took a couple minutes to discuss defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the Dallas Stars top prospect and No. 3 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.
“He’s a good player, last year I saw him play many games. He stood out. But now he’s even better,” Lehtinen said. “We had him in (an international) tournament two weeks ago and he was one of our best defenseman there. He has good chance to play in Olympics this year, World Championships, will see what happens. But he’s put up good notice for us.”
As a teenager Heiskanen is arguably the best player on HIFK and he has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in 13 Liiga games. He
“They put him in all situations at all times, and that team is better when they have him,” Lehtinen said. “He was hurt first month of season and the team didn’t play that well, and that tells a lot.”
Lehtinen looks at Heiskanen as an overall defenseman. There aren’t many flaws in Heiskanen’s game and the adjustments that are typically most difficult — being reliable defensively and focussing on the minor details — seem to come naturally.
“His skating and hockey sense skills, you can just tell that he’s a little better than most of guys,” Lehtinen said. “He can be an overall player, he can be everything basically.”
While Heiskanen checks all the boxes as a top prospect, Lehtinen said his mental psyche may be the biggest key to long-term success.
“He’s good player, good guy, down to earth guy, it’s nice to see,” Lehtinen said. “Playing (with) huge confidence, making mistakes, but it doesn’t bother him. He’s playing next shift and play good again, he’s good guy.”
Lehtinen is an ideal ally for the Stars when it comes to Heiskanen’s development, and it’s a mutual relationship that could lead to the teenager making an AHL cameo before the 2018 IIHF World Championships in May.
After December 1 Heiskanen won’t be eligible to play in the NHL this season, but he could join the Texas Stars in April after his Liiga season comes to a close with HIFK.
That AHL cameo can only happen with Lehtinen’s blessing. Since Heiskanen will officially be classified as a European player on December 1 and will be considered for Finnish national team selection, the Finnish hockey federation would have to give Heiskanen a temporary release to play in the AHL.
As long as HIFK doesn’t reach the Liiga championship series, which is held in late April, the timing should work out for Heiskanen to join the Texas Stars. And if that were the case Lehtinen would likely sign off a short-term AHL stint for the defender before he re-joined Finland for the World Championship in the first week of May.
Overall it could be a rather busy season for Heiskanen, who by the end of May will likely have played games in Liiga, the World Junior Championships, the Olympics, the AHL, and the World Championships.
“He can handle it,” Lehtinen said. “He’s built to play lots of hockey.”
While Olympic hockey may have lost some luster with the NHL deciding to skip the games in South Korea, it’s a silver lining for Heiskanen who may not have made the team with NHL options available.
“Heiskanen is one of those guys who can make the team. With (the NHL going) maybe not,” Lehtinen said. “I think it’ll be more even now without NHL players. Maybe Russia has the best individual players, but never know as a team game. (With) other countries I think it’s evened up. Anyways think it’s going to be a good tournament.”
It also could be a nice springboard for Heiskanen. With a strong showing in the Olympics, a strong finish to his Liiga season, and a brief AHL cameo, he could be ready for NHL duty on opening night of the 2018-19 season.
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