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The Boston Bruins were able to restock their prospect pool over the last two seasons and that’s great news for a Bruins team that is in the middle of a re-tool! Some of the prospects should start contributing as early as the 2015-16 season, but many are projected to start later. One of those “to-play-later” prospects is University of Denver sophomore-to-be Danton Heinen.
In the 2014-15 season, Danton Heinen was one of the best rookies in all of college hockey note that Jack Eichel was a rookie last season for Boston University, so being the #1 rookie would have been quite the task). The Bruins 4th round pick in 2014 really impressed last year at the University of Denver, finding the back of the net 16 times and adding 29 assists for 45 points in 40 games. As mentioned, the only rookie better than Heinen in terms of points last season in college hockey was Jack Eichel.
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As his stats suggest, Heinen is most known for his offensive game, but isn’t a liability in the defensive zone. Assuming Claude Julien is still the coach by the time Danton Heinen is ready to make the jump to the NHL, he will not be disappointed with what Danton Heinen can bring to the table. Any offensive-player with a responsible style of play in his own zone is guaranteed to earn some brownie points with Claude Julien. David Pastrnak is a great example of a young offensive player who is known for his two-way game as well. One of the reasons why Danton Heinen isn’t ready to play in the NHL yet is his size. Standing at 6’0 tall, he’s the ideal height for a forward; his downfall is his weight being only 161lbs. If Danton Heinen can bulk up, he could have the potential to play for the Bruins as early as the 2016-17 season.
As is the case with many of the Bruins prospects, Heinen is a very offensively gifted center who will have to fight hard if he wants to play his natural position in Boston. With center depth including players like David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Spooner, and Alexander Khokhlachev to name the more offensively-gifted standouts, it will be hard for Danton Heinen to earn his place down the middle; a challenge he should embrace if he wants to succeed in the NHL.