The S56 SMJHL Entry Draft is rapidly approaching, and we’re already starting to see a number of articles and mock drafts being released in anticipation of Sunday’s event. One name that has been seen mostly around the bottom of those mock drafts, if indeed he has made the cut at all, is Finland’s newest export in Jari Heikkinen. About a week ago Heikkinen was introduced to the North American hockey audience as he declared himself eligible for the SMJHL draft, following yet another mediocre season in Finland. It’s perhaps unsurprising that Heikkinen has failed to attract much attention thus far. His play in Europe has shown him to be little more than a depth player, and although he has had flashes of brilliance, the same could be said for virtually every other player who has laced up the skates.

Today, we’re going outlining some of the information provided to us by Heikkinen himself to get a better impression of what he expects from the draft, what he’s hoping for, and perhaps even get some insight into the team or teams he’s interested in playing in. This will be less a scouting report, that much having already been handled in the previous article, and more a window into one prospect’s mindset. A lot can change between now and Sunday, and even more will change by the time Heikkinen is ready to enter himself into the SHL Entry Draft in one season’s time. Draft stock is, after all, ever-changing.

The first question we had for Heikkinen was about his expectations on which round he expected to be selected in. To that, he more or less shrugged off the importance of his actual placement, stating that the draft was just a “first foot into the door” and that it didn’t really matter. He emphasized that he didn’t care which pick he was selected at, but rather that he just wanted to get a chance to play. When pressed, he suggested that he thought that he had the potential to go in the first round, but felt it was more realistic that he might go in the second round, after some of the more dynamic players were selected. Certainly, the most recent draft rankings placed Heikkinen at eighteenth overall, which would put him right in that ballpark.

That being said, it does seem that there’s at least some potential for Heikkinen to go a bit higher than eighteenth, although there’s no doubt that there are superior selections to be made at the very top of the draft. A lot of it is going to come down to trust: Heikkinen is not the most well-known, nor the most experienced player around. Some players coming out of Europe can boast at having had a chance to play against stiffer competition than those going through the normal minor hockey circuits in North America, but that isn’t really true of Heikkinen, having been relegated to the B-tier leagues for a couple of his formative seasons. In order to really make an impact in the SMJHL, he’s going to have to dedicate himself to his training, and not all managers are really convinced that he intends to do that.

The next question we had for Heikkinen was about which team he wanted to go to, or if any stood out to him. At first, he was evasive — no player wants to diminish their draft stock by discounting one or two organizations. While it is clear that we won’t receive any formal draft rankings from Heikkinen in the way that some players do, he did admit to having a top ‘tier’ of teams he was hoping to play for:

“I guess I don’t want to give the impression that I won’t play for someone just because I didn’t list them here. I mean, I don’t know all the players or managers, and I don’t even really have much of a feel for all of the teams. Based on people I know, conversations I’ve had… people my agent knows, that sort of thing, I guess the top of the list would be teams like Newfoundland, Maine, and Quebec City. I don’t know about other teams past that — I mean, I’ll play for anyone. I don’t not want to play for anyone. But if you’re asking about places where there’s a bunch of people I’m familiar with, that I’d rate higher? Sure — I’ll pick those three. But again. I’ll play anywhere.”

Heikkinen went on to say that he had considered filing an official draft ranking list earlier in the week, but worried about coming across as disrespectful to teams or staff who he simply didn’t know enough about to really say one way or another. He also noted that team reputations often don’t match team locker rooms, and even an organization that might not be as prominently featured in SMJHL marketing or media could still be a great place to play.

We also asked Heikkinen to describe his style of play a bit more, to speak to some of the scouts who have perhaps struggled to place him or really come to grasp his priorities as a player. He described himself as an offensive defenceman, arguing that the best way to fulfill his role on the defense was simply not to cough up the puck on the forecheck: time spent on the attack is time not spent on the defense. It’s perhaps not the best logic, but it does speak to the likelihood he will be emphasizing the offensive side of his game more than the defensive when it comes to training and practice. He also made note of his skating ability, something that was noted in the previous article, stating that he thought his skating was “the single most important tool” he had at his disposal.

This emphasis on skating might help Heikkinen to develop more of a two-way game down the road, whether or not that is on his mind right now. It’s clear that he wants a chance to put up points in a way he didn’t in Finland, but while the old adage goes that ‘speed kills’, the same is true in reverse. A fast defenceman able to keep up with opposing forwards and effectively switch between responsibilities when required can help minimize the impact of an opposing forecheck. So, speed negates speed.

Finally, we went on to ask Heikkinen about his career expectations: what he expects to accomplish in the SMJHL, and his aspirations towards the SHL proper. On that topic, there was little that should surprise anyone:

“I mean, I obviously want to win the Four Star Cup. It’s something that you only get what — two, three, maybe four chances at in your career. There are a lot of players who have won gold medals and Challenge Cups who didn’t get Four Star Cups to their name, and they went on to regret it. It’s something special because, sure it’s at the junior level, but it’s really limited in that way, you know? I think the best thing I can do is to try to devote myself to winning that trophy. I mean, that’s what we’re playing for anyways, isn’t it?”

On the SHL, he said:

“I want to make it to the SHL, sure. It’s a long way off, but my eye is going to be on the SHL draft for a lot of my rookie season. I want to put out a good showing so that I’ll be selected by a team. It’s the same as the draft this Sunday. I don’t need to go first overall, or first round. I don’t even have to go second round. I just have to get picked so I have a chance to actually make the team sometime down the line. As far as teams — I mean I really don’t know, it’s a long way off. I know some people with like… Buffalo and Chicago, and Baltimore, and I think Manhattan… but it’s like the draft this season. I’ll go anywhere, I don’t care, I just want to play and I want to compete to win.”

A lot of what Heikkinen provided for us in this article was fairly run of the mill. Most prospects, at least those not out to cause trouble, tend to give fairly non-committal answers. You’re going to see the same sorts of comments being made by other members of his class, members of the SHL draft class, and on and on. But hopefully at least some of what he provided to us is revealing: if not about where he wants to play or what he wants to do, then at least about his expectations for himself. Is it any surprise that a young player wants to win a Four Star Cup and get drafted to the SHL? Not really. But when the draft comes around, every little kernel of information helps.