Heiskanen continuing to impress for Stars entering Game 1 of West Final

DALLAS -- There are a lot of positive and lengthy descriptions one could use for Miro Heiskanen, but for teammate Jake Oettinger, a few words will do.

"He's a stud, one of the best in the world," the Dallas Stars goalie said of the defenseman. "Plain and simple."

Heiskanen continues to be one of the best defensemen in the NHL and a big reason the Stars are in the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 of the best-of-7 series will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The 23-year-old has played the second-most minutes of any skater in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (367:17) and is second in the NHL in average ice time per game (28:15); Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour leads in both categories (368:38, 28:21). Heiskanen also has nine assists, seven of which have come on the power play, in 13 games. This is all after he had an NHL career-high 73 points (11 goals, 62 points) in 79 games during the regular season.

Stars coach Peter DeBoer has coached a lot of great defensemen but said, "I don't think I've coached a player like Miro."

"I've had really good offensive defensemen, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson (both while coaching the San Jose Sharks) that could defend and did a good job but weren't defense-first-mentality guys," DeBoer said. "Miro has that special mindset where he takes a lot of pride in defending and shutting the other team down and making sure he's not scored against when he's on the ice.

"He never cheats to create points or offense at the expense of that, and that's rare for an elite offensive defenseman. So, I haven't had a guy quite like him."

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Stars series coverage]

Jim Nill has been around elite defensemen too. The Stars general manager saw Hockey Hall of Fame member Nicklas Lidstrom up close with the Detroit Red Wings, first as their director of player development and then as their assistant general manager. He also was general manager of Canada when it had Scott Niedermayer, another Hall of Famer, during the 2004 IIHF World Championship.

"They all have their special traits," Nill said. "[Heiskanen] has his special traits also, but he's just at a different level. His skating's at a different level, his mind is at a different level, his stick is at a different level, and he's been blessed and he's taking advantage of it. He puts the work in to make him the best and he enjoys being the best."

When the Stars defeated the Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 of the second round, Heiskanen played a game-high 32:07. He played comparable minutes, 31:02, during a 6-3 win in Game 4. That may have been even more impressive, considering he was wearing a full face shield after taking a puck to his left cheek in the second period of Game 3.

"Felt pretty good there," Heiskanen said after that game. "It doesn't matter. I felt pretty normal. It's always nice to get minutes up again."

Heiskanen treats his tremendous games as run-of-the-mill outings, but others have no problem talking about what sets him apart.

"His skating ability," Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said. "It's just world class. It's so effortless. He's a very shifty guy. That's probably his biggest weapon for sure,"

Aho and Heiskanen played for Finland in the 2018 World Championship. Aho said the defenseman's effortless skating is likely what allows him to play massive minutes.

"That's probably it," Aho said. "Probably he doesn't have to use some energy as some other [defensemen]. He's a world-class skater, and that makes it possible for him."

Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey also praised Heiskanen's skating, but said, "That doesn't make you a great player.

"… You have to have good intel, you have to have good hockey sense, with or without the puck, and he has it. He's had it from Day One and he just seems to be getting better.

"What's going on with him right now, going into the conference final is the same with (Colorado Avalanche defenseman) Cale Makar last year and [Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor] Hedman in years gone by: It just makes you even better because you really test yourself to see if you have what it takes to play when the heat is on. Some guys can't, some guys don't but he seems to me, the bigger the game, the better the game, the more he wants to be out there, the more he wants the puck on his stick, the more he wants to play. As a former guy and fan of the game, that's fun to watch."

Heiskanen probably doesn't get the attention he should. Now that the Stars are in the conference final for the second time in four seasons, Nill believes he will.

"Just [to be] kind of frank here," Nill said, "we play in Dallas, Texas. Our start times are a little different. People don't see us all the time, but this is what's great about these moments. Now people get to see Miro Heiskanen on the stage. They've started to see him these last couple of rounds. They've seen what he can do."

NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report