Danton Heinen impresses in rookie season

Danton Heinen- Forward

Analysis:

Danton Heinen was drafted by the Bruins 116th overall in the 2014 NHL draft. He has spent the majority of his time with the B’s in Providence. Bruins fans had a lot of hope for him and the 2017-18 season allowed him to play with the big club and show off the potential we all knew he had. After playing eight games with the Bruins during the 2016-17 season, he scored a grand total of zero points. This season was a lot different for Heinen.

Heinen had the difficult task of rising up the ranks with the likes of other young talents. Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, and Anders Bjork seemed to steal the rookie spotlight away from him. Heinen impressed in training camp and secured himself a spot in the lineup. Come December, he already had 9 goals and 17 assists to his name. The only players with more points than him early in the season were Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. With 16 goals over the season, he found himself amongst the NHL’s top rookie goal scorers.

Playing mostly on the left wing of the third line with Riley Nash and David Backes, Heinen had a big impact. He was scoring big goals, like the tying goal above and below. He was providing support to his linemates, assisting 31 goals. He started out strong early in the season but fell a bit flat in the end. Come playoffs, he struggled a bit. Offensively, Heinen slumped. In 9 playoff game appearances, he had one goal and no assists. A big difference between the offensive impact he had during the regular season.

Heinen was not just the king of tying up games, he also finished off some for the Bruins. He had a total of four game-winning goals this season. He racked up 242 total shots in 77 games played, proving he has offensive drive the Bruins need. With no major changes to the lineup during the offseason, the black and gold will be looking to Heinen to continue his offensive production. It is likely he could make his way to a top-6 position in the near future.

Aggregate Grade: A

Judge me for being quick to give a rookie an A rating, I probably deserve it. But for me, Heinen made an impact on this team quickly. He was part of the NHL’s top rookie goal scorers and went from playing 8 games with the big club and scoring 0 points, to playing 77 games this season and racking up 47 points. Sure, he had his rough patches, but he impressed out the gate for me. When the Bruins needed an offensive pick-me-up, he was there. I think he will continue to improve as time goes on, becoming a key forward for the B’s.