Could Ville Heinola play more than 30 games?

Mike McIntyre, a highly respected sports writer for the Winnipeg recently conducted a Q&A and addressed Ville Heinola's NHL role on the team next season.

McIntyre: I'll take the over. I have no doubt he would have surpassed that easily last season if not for the unfortunate broken ankle he suffered in the final pre-season game.

Winnipeg's top four of Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Dylan Samberg and Neal Pionk is fairly set - again, provided injuries don't rear their ugly head - but Heinola, Colin Miller and Logan Stanley should all be competing for bottom-pairing work.

We may see a bit of a rotation, especially early in the year to keep everyone sharp, but I expect Heinola to make an impact. There are also some depth defencemen such as Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan who will be fighting for looks, too, and rookie Elias Salomonsson - who I suspect at least starts the year with the Manitoba Moose - could make a compelling case at some point, too.

These reports from McIntyre are highly indicative of Heinola cementing a more prominent role on the Jets blue-line. Being a rookie and notching more than 30+ games would be highly beneficial for his overall development.

source: The Free Press
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