Ville Heinola
| Ville Heinola | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Heinola in 2022 | |||
| Born |
2 March 2001 Honkajoki, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Vegas Golden Knights Lukko Winnipeg Jets | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft |
20th overall, 2019 Winnipeg Jets | ||
| Playing career | 2018–present | ||
Ville Heinola (born 2 March 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] Ranked as one of the top international skaters eligible for the 2019 NHL entry draft.[2][3] Heinola was selected 20th overall by the Jets, with whom he made his NHL debut in 2019.
Playing career
On 15 July 2019, Heinola was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[4]
Heinola impressively made the Jets roster out of training camp. He became the first player of the 2019 NHL entry draft to register an NHL point during the Jets first game of the 2019–20 season against the New York Rangers on 3 October 2019. Heinola scored his first career NHL goal on 8 October against Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Heinola posted 5 points through 8 games before he was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. After appearing in 3 games with the Moose, Heinola was loaned to continue development with his Finnish club Lukko for the remainder of the season on 8 November.[5]
As a free agent, Heinola signed a one-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on 1 July 2026.[6]
International play
Heinola competed with Team Finland at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in 2019, 2020, and 2021, winning the Gold Medal in 2019 and the Bronze Medal in 2021.[7][8] He was one of two defensemen named to the Media All-Star Team after the end of the 2021 tournament.[9]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Ässät | Jr. A | 33 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lukko | Jr. A | 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lukko | Liiga | 34 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Lukko | Liiga | 29 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Lukko | Liiga | 19 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 19 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 41 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 48 | 4 | 33 | 37 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2022–23 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 41 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2025–26 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 44 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2025–26 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 82 | 3 | 32 | 35 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 58 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2026 Switzerland | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 2019 Canada | |
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2021 Canada | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Finland | HG18 | 7th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Finland | WJC |  |
5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2020 | Finland | WJC | 4th | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | |
| 2021 | Finland | WJC |  |
7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2026 | Finland | WC | |
10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 23 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||||
| Senior totals | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Ville Heinola at eliteprospects.com".
- ↑ "Central Scouting International Skaters Midterm Rankings" (PDF). NHL.com. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- ↑ Button, Craig (7 January 2019). "Craig's List: Hughes stays ahead of Kakko after World Juniors". TSN.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ↑ "Jets sign Ville Heinola to three-year contract". Winnipeg Jets. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ↑ "Jets reassign defenceman Ville Heinola back to Finnish Liiga". The Sports Network. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ↑ "Golden Knights Announce Eleven Free Agent Signings". Vegas Golden Knights. 1 July 2026.
- ↑ "IIHF - Kaapo Kakko gives Finns gold". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ↑ "IIHF - Lundell leads Finns to bronze". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ↑ "IIHF - Zegras named MVP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database