Panthers Prospect Heponiemi Wins Gold at World Juniors

Florida Panthers prospect Aleksi Heponiemi is heading back overseas with a gold medal around his neck after registering an assist during Finland's 3-2 win over the United States in the gold-medal game of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship on Saturday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C.

After Heponiemi set up defenseman Otto Latvala to extend Finland's lead to 2-0 just six minutes into the third period, the United States fought back to tie the game 2-2 before Kaapo Kakko, a projected top-two pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, netted the game-winner with 1:26 left in regulation to secure victory.
"This is a guy who handles the puck, who makes plays in tight areas. He's a water bug," Panthers director of amateur scouting Jason Bukala said of Heponiemi heading into the tournament. "He's hard to contain… He's proving in a good league in Finland that he's already capable of scoring at a high level in the pros. He'll be with us sooner than later."

A second-round pick (40th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, Heponiemi finished tied with fellow Panthers prospect Grigori Denisenko for the tournament scoring lead with nine points, including the game-tying goal with 47 seconds left on the clock that got the Finns to overtime against Canada in the quarterfinals.
Heponiemi, 19, registered at least one point in five of seven games.
As for Denisenko, the 2018 first-round pick (15th overall) posted an assist during Russia's 5-2 win over Switzerland to claim a bronze medal. The 18-year-old forward was one of the most talked about players at this year's tournament, bursting onto the national scene with his dynamic passing and goal scoring.
With four goals and five assists in seven games, he earned a spot on the tournament's All-Star team.
"He's got a pro release," Bukala said of Denisenko. "You forget sometimes how hard this kid can shoot the puck. He's such a skilled player with the puck on his stick. Not only was he making plays, but he scored some goals with some shots that an NHL goaltender would have a hard time stopping."

Of Florida's three prospects at the tournament, 2017 first-round pick Owen Tippett was the only one not to medal, as he and Team Canada were knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. Still, the 19-year-old forward was considered by many to be one of his team's best players at the World Juniors.
Corey Pronman, a national prospect writer for The Athletic, had Tippett on his personal All-Star ballot, as the top-line winger registered two goals and two assists in four games. Showing off some incredibly nifty moves both with and without the puck, he also sent Twitter into a tizzy on more than one occasion.
"I don't think they realize how hard this kid shoots the puck," Bukala said of Tippett.

Heponiemi is the first prospect under Panthers control to win gold since Vincent Trocheck and Rocco Grimaldi helped lead Team USA to a championship back in 2013.