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Florida Panthers: Five Defensemen to Select with the 13th Pick

By Daniel Janicas

KELOWNA, BC - DECEMBER 18: Philip Broberg #25 of Team Sweden skates against Team Russia at Prospera Place on December 18, 2018 in Kelowna, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)
KELOWNA, BC - DECEMBER 18: Philip Broberg #25 of Team Sweden skates against Team Russia at Prospera Place on December 18, 2018 in Kelowna, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images) /
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Ville Heinola (Lukko/Liiga)

VICTORIA , BC – DECEMBER 26: Ville Heinola #34 of Finland versus Sweden at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on December 26, 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VICTORIA , BC – DECEMBER 26: Ville Heinola #34 of Finland versus Sweden at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on December 26, 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

Ville Heinola isn’t too far off from Moritz Seider, but considering that Seider is the better of the two defensively, that’s where the tossup (for me) stands.

Regardless, Ville Heinola is a different type of defender, standing at 5’11”, 181 lbs. The Finn displays strong vision offensively, and is able to create space and find open lanes for him and his teammates.

Heinola is also a fluid skater with tremendous edge work. His shot is by no means a cannon, but it’s accurate enough to catch any goaltender off guard. Additionally, Heinola loves to jump up in the rush and provide his team with that “fourth scoring option” that comes from the blue line.

Defensively, Heinola isn’t too bad and can defend one-on-one plays pretty well. However, because he lacks strength at this stage of his career and is a little undersized, he often struggles to win puck battles against his opponents.

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More importantly, though, his defensive zone coverage could use some work as Heinola isn’t as defensively aware as the three players mentioned before.

His offense, however, is his bread and butter. In 34 games with Lukko (Liiga), Heinola put together a stat line of 2G, 12A, for 14 points. Against players his own age, Heinola mustered 9 points (1G & 8A) in 9 games with Lukko U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga).

Projected to land in the later stages of the first round, Ville Heinola would serve as an awesome selection around pick No. 20 and onwards.

Because the Panthers select before the midway point of the first round, it wouldn’t make sense for them to choose Heinola over the likes of Broberg, Söderström, or even Seider – who are all dubbed as better players.

Although, if Heinola finds himself unselected in the first round and drops to the second, maybe, just maybe, the Florida Panthers could acquire a second-round pick to scoop up the left-handed defenseman.

If all goes as planned for Ville Heinola, the product of Finland could turn out as a top-four d-man for many years to come.

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