Heinola in good spirits following ankle surgery

Over a week and a half ago, Ville Heinola suffered a fractured ankle during the Winnipeg Jets preseason finale against Ottawa. The Finnish defenceman had worked his way into the conversation of being with the Jets when the season started in Calgary on October 11^th.  Before that game against the Sens, it looked like Heinola had played his way into the lineup, but he wasn’t thinking about that.

“Honestly for me, my mindset was, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t want to focus on that (making the team) at all. I knew my situation wasn’t the best,” said Heinola.

“Be myself, play my game. I knew if I played well, I have a chance. So that was pretty much all I was thinking about before the game. Just be myself, don’t think about anything.”

As upsetting as that night was for Heinola, he is in better spirits now but remains frustrated with his situation.

“It’s tough for me. The biggest thing is I’ve been working so hard all summer, all preseason. I put in a lot of work and then the final (preseason) game just happened. So, I just feel like there’s so much work behind it and I felt like everything went well,” said Heinola from Pearson International Airport in Toronto on his way home to Finland on Monday.

“So, it’s been tough but, you know, it’s already been over a week, so I’m kind of hoping this time goes fast and I will come back soon.”

It was more than halfway through the first period of the Jets game with Ottawa, Heinola was in on the forecheck after his defence partner Brenden Dillon dumped the puck in the left corner. Heinola bumped into Erik Brannstrom and fell to the ice and immediately knew something was wrong.

“It was kind of a weird situation. I’ve been talking to everyone, like that same situation happens in the game 100 times,” said Heinola.

“So, it’s unfortunate. I could tell right away, it felt like I couldn’t even step on it, step on that way. It felt bad right away. So, it wasn’t great.”

Dillon remembers going into the dressing room after the first period and seeing Heinola.

“I think this year specifically three of my four preseason games I was paired with him, and of course, things were kind of shaping up. For that to happen in the last preseason game, to have to have a surgery, it’s crushing,” said Dillon.

“You feel for him, you feel for the situation. Really getting his first good crack at an opportunity. All you can do is support him. I said to him ‘I’ve been through this. I’ve had surgeries myself. It’s a long road back. But the longer you sit and harp on something, the tougher it’s going to be.’”

Heinola says he has received a ton of support from his Jet teammates since the injury including Dillon, who has become one of his good friends on the team.

“You know he’s kind of like, I don’t know how to describe it, maybe a big brother or something like that. But he’s been super helpful. We’ve been talking a lot, I’ve been asking a lot of questions,” said Heinola.

“I know when I ask him something, I always get a nice answer from him. So, it’s just been a huge help for me. You know, you just feel so much more comfortable when you have guys like that, who can help and talk to you and whatever you need.”

Dillon offered some more advice for Heinola during the next couple of months.

“You don’t want to rush back; you don’t want to bypass part of the rehab just to get back and get into it. Because when you get back you want to get to the level you were at before you got injured,” said Dillon.

“That’s what I kind of tried to echo to him is there is no rush. Stick with your timelines, do the work that needs to be done and he’s going to be watching enough hockey from his couch.  You just wish the best for him, sounds like the surgery went well and try to keep things light. I laughed with him, the metal detectors when he walks through security is going to be an issue. If he’s going to have to hurt somebody he’s going to have to kick with his right ankle. You have to make jokes, knowing that it does suck.”

Heinola’s rehab will begin once he gets back from Finland which should be a good start to his recovery being around family and friends.

“I mean, yeah, of course I would like to stay in Winnipeg and play hockey but right now it’s not possible. So, it’s nice to go home and for me the biggest thing is just to be around the family,” said Heinola.

“I would be in my apartment a lot (in Winnipeg) probably thinking about things too much. So, it’s nice to go back home and see the family and be around them.”