Ville Heinola Injury: What happened to Winnipeg Jets prospect? 

By Anjum Rajonno

Modified Sep 21, 2024 06:19 GMT

Manitoba Moose defenseman and Winnipeg Jets prospect Ville Heinola has been ruled out indefinitely. Heionla, who previously suffered a fractured ankle last summer, will miss the Jets' preseason due to infection showing up in his blood work.

TSN's John Lu reported that the AHL defenseman will be "out indefinitely" while he recovers from an infection in his surgically repaired ankle. This comes as a blow for the Jets prospect, who originally broke his ankle in a preseason game last year in October.

Heinola's medicals diagnosed the infection on Wednesday but the defenseman skated on Thursday, despite slight swelling showing up in the area.

Jets coach Scott Arniel considers the unfortunate incident a setback for the youngster as Heinola was looking forward to joining the team in the summer (via NHL.com):

“He was so excited about coming back. As I said to him, it's a setback, but these are things that make you stronger,” Arniel said. "It hits you in the gut, especially after what happened last year.”

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Ville Heionla had his spot fixed in opening night roster

It came as no surprise when Scott Arniel had previously remarked that the youngster had already earned his place in their opening night roster this year, given he made five appearances last preseason. However, as Arniel made it clear that Heinola's injury is not "day-to-day", things will perhaps not go as planned for the player and the team.

Arniel, nevertheless, remains optimistic about Heinola's situation:

“We'll just come back around this in maybe a week or so and see where he’s at. Hopefully we can get it fixed 100 per cent and go from there," he said.

Last season, Ville Heinola played 41 games in the AHL and scored 27 points for his side, the Manitoba Moose. Heinola was eager to earn his place as the sixth defensive spot on the roster this season when he spoke to the media last week (via IllegalCurve.com):

“Obviously I’m very excited,” Heinola said about the opportunity ahead of him in training camp. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I’ve been grinding every single day just to be ready when I get the chance to be in a top six, that’s my only goal this year and I’m working towards it.”

The youngster added that last year's injury made him physically stronger, and mentally more so. Heinola also mentioned that he felt more ready than he did last year. Jets fans will hope to see him back on the ice as soon as possible.