Boston Bruins Forward Danton Heinen Gets Another Shot
Boston Bruins Forward Danton Heinen Gets Another Shot After Callup Prior to Maple Leafs Game
Things didn’t go quite according to plan for Danton Heinen in his first stint in the NHL. The former University of Denver standout started his career with seven NHL games and zero points. Unfortunately for Heinen, he never really got an opportunity to flourish. He was given good ice time with good line partners. The issue, however, was the fact that Boston needed to adjust their lineup quickly to spark something positive.
Taking everything in stride, Heinen shined in the AHL following his assignment to Providence. In 13 games with the Baby Bs, Heinen scores seven goals and 13 points. His scoring touch was evident, and that sparked the discussion to have him called back up to the NHL roster.
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“My hope is that Heinen can come in and give us some good hockey,” head coach Claude Julien said. “He’s a skill player and he’s been down there for a while, and he’s back up again because he’s been playing well.”
Julien also mentioned confidence as a factor in Heinen improving in the NHL. Playing in a new league can always be jarring. Playing in the top league in the entire world at just 21 years old, however, is a whole other story in itself.
“Hopefully, he can play well here also. It’s about getting some confidence. When he went down to (the AHL) the pace of his game had to get a little bit better, and in the battles coming up with the puck along the walls. Those are the kinds of things we thought he could work on down in Providence.”– Claude Julien
Because of Heinen’s ability to shoot the puck, Heinen knows he needs to shoot the puck more. He didn’t look like a negative player on the ice by any means in his first stint with the team, but his offense was non-existent. In his first seven games in Boston, Heinen had just six shots on net.
“Being hard on the walls, playing fast and shooting the puck, those were all things I was working on (in Providence),” Heinen said. “I was doing what they told me to do (in Providence), and that’s shoot the puck.
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For Heinen, this is a second chance to make an impression in the NHL. He’s set to line up alongside David Krejci and David Backes, so the opportunities to shoot will be there. The Bruins have been rumored to be looking for a top-six left winger to complement Krejci, and Heinen hopes to fill that void permanently.