Prospect Report: Heiskanen named to Finland's roster for Winter Olympics
The Stars' 2017 first-round pick is one of two 18-year-olds on the country's roster
By
Mark Stepneski @StarsInsideEdge / <b>Inside Edge</b>
Heiskanen and forward Eeli Tolvanen, both 18 years old, are the two youngest players on the Finnish roster for the tournament.
Heiskanen, the Stars first-round pick (third overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 20 games with HIFK in Finland's top league this season. He missed the first month of the season due to a concussion and is currently out with an upper-body injury, but still is tied for fifth among league defensemen in goal scoring.
He played for Finland at the recent World Junior Championship, tallying two assists in five games and leading the team in ice time (23:49 per game) while playing through the upper-body injury that currently has him sidelined.
Finland's general manager Jere Lehtinen had high praise for Heiskanen earlier this season.
"He's a good player. Last year, I saw him play many games. Most of the time he stood out. But now, this season, he is even better," Lehtinen said. "His skating and hockey sense skills, you can just tell are better than most guys and that makes him a good overall player."
The Olympic tournament will be held Feb. 14-25.
Here's a look at how other Dallas prospects playing in Europe, college and juniors fared over the past week.
NCAA
LW Riley Tufte(1st round/2016) tallied four points (two goals, two assists) over the weekend, giving him 10 points (six goals, four assists) over his last six games. Tufte scored an empty-net goal Friday to seal No. 14 Minnesota' Duluth's 5-3 win over No. 7 North Dakota. On Saturday, he tallied three points (one goal, two assists), including an assist on the game-winning goal and another empty-net goal as UMD knocked off North Dakota for a second straight game, 5-2. The 19-year-old sophomore, a first-round pick in 2016, has 19 points (12 goals, 7 assists) in 23 games, leading the Bulldogs in goals and ranking third on the team in points. This past week, Tufte was among the 74 Division I NCAA players nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the top player in college hockey.
Tufte Stats: Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) | 23 GP | 12 G | 7 A | 19 PTS | +7 | 20 PIM
G Colton Point (5th round/2016) stopped 54 of 58 shots but did not get any offensive support in a pair of 2-0 losses to Cornell last week. Point is 10-7-4 on the season and ranks second in the nation in save percentage (.940) and fifth in goals against average (1.88). Along with Tufte, Point was one of 74 Division I NCAA players nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to college hockey's top player.
Point Stats: Colgate (ECAC) | 10-7-4 | 1.88 | .940
G Jake Oettinger (1st round/2017) won both his starts over the weekend stopping 50 of 54 shots in Boston University's 4-3 and 3-1 wins over Merrimack. Oettinger is 10-10-2 with a 2.74 goals against average and .907 save percentage.
Oettinger Stats: Boston University (Hockey East) | 10-10-2 | 2.74 | .907
D Joe Cecconi (5th round/2015) tallied two assists in two games for the University of Michigan over the weekend. Cecconi has 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 24 games.
Cecconi Stats: Michigan (Big Ten) | 24 GP | 3 G | 11 A | 14 PTS | -6 | 22 PIM
D Michael Prapavessis (4th round/2014) picked up one assist in two games for RPI, giving him 12 assists in 26 games this season.
Prapavessis Stats: RPI (ECAC) | 26 GP | 0 G | 12 A | 12 PTS | -11 | 8 PIM
C/LW Rhett Gardner (4th round/2016) did not play last week due to a lower-body injury. Gardner has 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games.
Gardner Stats: North Dakota (NCHC) | 23 GP | 5 G | 10 A | 15 PTS | +7 |14 PIM
North American Juniors
LW Jason Robertson (2nd round/2017) had a productive week in major juniors, tallying five points (two goals, three assists) in three games for Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. Robertson has 60 points (27 goals, 33 assists) in 45 games and ranks fifth in the OHL in points and is tied for sixth in goals.
Robertson Stats: Kingston (OHL) | 45 GP | 27 G | 33 A | 60 PTS | +12 | 30 PIM
RW Nick Caamano(5th round/2016) had his 14-game points streak come to an end on Wednesday but he picked up one assist in each of his next two games for Hamilton in the OHL to give him points in 16 of the last 17 games. Since being acquired by Hamilton in late November, Caamano has 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 games. Caamano has 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) in 42 games with both Hamilton and Flint this season.
Caamano Stats: Hamilton/Flint (OHL) | 42 GP | 22 G | 23 A | 45 PTS | +5 | 70 PIM
C Liam Hawel (4th round/2017) had one goal in two games with Guelph of the OHL, giving him 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists) in 38 games.
Hawel Stats: Guelph (OHL) | 38 GP | 6 G | 20 A | 26 PTS | -3 | 17 PIM
C Brett Davis (6th round/2017) scored one goal in two games for Kootenay in the Western Hockey League over the past week. Davis has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 46 games.
Davis Stats: Kootenay | 46 GP | 14 G | 16 A | 30 PTS | -8 | 15 PIM
D Ondrej Vala (Free agent/2016) picked up one assist in three games for Everett in the WHL. Vala has 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) in 37 WHL games this season.
Vala Stats: Kamloops/Everett (WHL) | 37 GP | 7 G | 16 A | 23 PTS | +10 | 32 PIM
Europe
D John Nyberg(6th round/2014) registered one assist in two games for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. Nyberg has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 38 games.
Nyberg Stats: Frolunda (SHL) | 38 GP | 2 G | 10 A | 12 PTS | -4 | 38 PIM
LW/C Fredrik Karlstrom (3rd round/2016) picked up one assist in two games for Linkoping in the SHL, giving him 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 28 games.
Karlstrom Stats: Linkoping (SHL) | 28 GP | 1 G | 3 A | 4 PTS | -1 | 6 PIM
Linkoping (Sweden, Jr.) | 3 GP | 2 G | 0 A | 2 PTS | -3 | 4 PIM
D Jakob Stenqvist(6th round/2016) tallied two assists in three games for Bjorkloven in Sweden's second league last week. Stenqvist ranks third in the league in scoring among defensemen with 19 points (4 goals, 15 assists) in 35 games.
Stenqvist Stats: Bjorkloven (Allsvenskan) | 35 GP | 4 G | 15 A | 19 PTS | +1 | 12 PIM
Frolunda (SHL) | 2 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 PTS | E | 2 PIM
C Jacob Peterson(5th round/2017) recorded two assists in two games for Frolunda in Swedish juniors. Peterson has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 27 games in juniors this season.
Peterson Stats: Frolunda (Sweden, Jr.) | 27 GP | 11 G | 18 A | 29 PTS | -4 | 14 PIM
Frolunda (SHL) | 5 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 PTS | -1 | 0 PIM
G Markus Ruusu (6th round/2015) did not play last week in Finland's second league. He's 5-0-2 with TUTO Hockey in the second league with a 2.76 goals against average.
Ruusu Stats: Ilves (Liiga) | 5-6-0 | 3.75 | .851
Ilves (Finland, Jr.) | 0-2-0 | 2.57 | .924
TUTO (Mestis) | 5-0-2 | 2.76 | .892
D Miro Karjalainen (5th round/2014) did not play for HPK in Finland's top league last week as he began to serve a suspension for a hit to the head. Karjalainen has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 23 games.
Karjalainen Stats: HPK (Liiga) | 23 GP | 1 G | 3 A | 4 PTS | -4 | 133 PIM
LW Valeri Nichushkin (1st round/2013) did not register any points in three games for CSKA in the KHL. Nichushkin has 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 47 games.
Nichushkin Stats: CSKA (KHL) | 15 GP | 6 G | 3 A | 9 PTS | +3 | 2 PIM
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.
