Trade to Islanders has paid off for Emil Heineman
This article originally appeared on hockeysverige.se and has been translated from Swedish to English.
For the second year in a row, Emil Heineman is representing Sweden at the IIHF World Championship.
Last year, the Leksand native was one of the players who impressed for Tre Kronor during the World Championship in Stockholm, which ended with a bronze medal. This time around, the 24-year-old appears set to take on a slightly bigger role for the team as Sweden competes in this year’s tournament in Switzerland.
“It’s really exciting,” Heineman said. “When I got the question, there was nothing to think about. I immediately got really motivated to continue the season and get a bit of redemption after our season, where we basically let it slip away at the end. It’s incredibly fun to play in the World Championship again, and I’m really fired up.
“With the experience I had last year… it was incredibly fun. At the same time, you also want a bit of redemption for how it ended there in Stockholm.”
He’s not the only New York Islanders player representing Sweden. This time, the NHL forward has also been joined by teammate Simon Holmström, who is making his World Championship debut with the national team. Heineman and Holmström also got the chance to play on the same line during the Beijer Hockey Games before the tournament began. Since the start of the World Championship, however, they have once again been placed on different lines. Both players had a pair of assists against Czechia on Monday.
“I don’t think we played on the same line for more than one game all season with the Islanders,” Heineman said. “It’s fun to play with him here. He’s an incredibly skilled player, and it’s nice to have him here too — someone you know really well. I think he’s been really good over the last two years. It’s fun that both of us get to be part of this journey now.”
The Isles looked destined to make the playoffs for the first time in two years. But the club lost ten of their final 14 games, with seven of those defeats coming in the last eight games of the regular season. That led to head coach Patrick Roy being fired and replaced by Pete DeBoer.
It didn’t help, however. I the end, the Islanders finished seven points behind the final playoff spot because of their poor finish.
“I think we played incredibly well for maybe 68 or 70 games, which makes it even worse,” Heineman said. “At the same time, I don’t think you can take away or forget that part and how well we played. We put ourselves in a really good position, but we couldn’t hold on or take advantage of it for the final push. That’s something we can take with us and learn from moving forward.”
Last year, the Islanders won the right to select first overall in the NHL Draft. They used the pick on highly touted defense prospect Matthew Schaefer. The 18-year-old has since enjoyed a sensational breakout season and has already established himself as a top defenseman in the NHL. Schaefer recorded an incredible 23 goals and 59 points – easily winning the Calder Trophy.
Schaefer received all 198 first-place votes. It marked the first time since Teemu Selänne won it in 1993 that a rookie received every first-place vote.
“It’s absolutely incredible… I’m very impressed by him,” Heineman said. “You could really see how he grew into things as the season went along. He took major steps every single month. The way a player can adapt to the league that quickly is really impressive. He started the season and obviously played very well, but maybe he still looked a little junior-like. By the end of the season, he had grown into everything, and it looked like he’d been in the league for ten years. It’s really impressive to have seen his development.”
Heineman himself was also new to the New York Islanders this past season. Last year, he was traded from the Montréal Canadiens in the Noah Dobson deal, and the move paid off for the 24-year-old. Heineman improved from 10 goals and eight assists in 62 games with Montréal to 22 goals and nine assists in 82 games with the Islanders. He finished as the team’s third-leading goal scorer behind Bo Horvat and Schaefer.
In other words, the move paid off for the forward.
“I felt like I got a big role right away while still trying to be myself. Work hard, win pucks, and use my shot. It was definitely a boost, and I learned a lot and developed a great deal, in my opinion. I want to bring that here and take the next step. I also see this World Championship as a development opportunity for myself. At the same time as we want to win as a team, there are also things I want to learn and challenge myself with.”
The bigger responsibility is the main reason behind his growth.
“I got to play more and was put in more situations. You learn how to handle that, which is a challenge in itself, and to do it every game. You face incredibly good players every single night, and I think that teaches you to constantly raise your minimum level and try to be really consistent.”