A league of his own: Former Stars defensemen praise impressive Heiskanen

Miro Heiskanen is a great talking point.
The 21-year-old defenseman has burst onto the scene and is leading the Stars in points as they fight for the Stanley Cup, and that obviously creates some good hockey discussion.

I called up four former Stars defensemen who also have done a fair bit of coaching or talent evaluation in their careers to see what they think of the newest player to man the Dallas blueline.
"Can you just type, 'Wow,'" asked Craig Ludwig, who won two Stanley Cups as a player and then went on to coach in the NHL, AHL and ECHL, as well as help many youth teams in the area.
"He's just such a gifted player, and what I've noticed in the playoffs is his confidence is going through the roof. Every tool is there, he skates well, his vision is incredible -- he can do it all."
Hall of Fame defenseman Sergei Zubov is working for the Stars as a senior consultant to hockey operations and said he has been watching Heiskanen closely.

"I do think the thought process of the game is different for players like him," Zubov said. "It slows down, you see things ahead of time. I can see that in him. His instincts are great and so a lot of things just happen for him."
Zubov was head coach of HC Sochi in Russia and also served as an assistant coach on the Russian National Team. He said that players like Heiskanen are typically thinking the game all of the time and coaching themselves.
"When you're in that position and you have the puck a lot, then you do study things like when the players are changing or how do they like to defend, because you want to control the flow of the game and you want to make smart plays and take advantage of their errors," Zubov said. "So you think about the length of the shift for yourself or your teammates, you think about who is on the ice. Part of that is coaching, and part of that is just your own thinking about, `How can I do this better?'"
Former Stars defenseman Philippe Boucher said that assessment sounds familiar to him. Boucher, who is tied for the franchise record for most goals in a season with 19 in 2006-07, played beside Zubov at times and said it was clear that he had "the gift."
"I do think some people have special vision," Boucher said. "Zubie saw the game differently. We couldn't do that, but he could. I think it's the same way with this guy. I've played with a lot of defensemen and very few had what Zubie had. When you look at Heiskanen, very few have what he has."
Ludwig said that Heiskanen's breakout scoring performance in the playoffs has been fun to watch, because you can see the potential that he can do even more. Heiskanen was averaging 0.51 points per game during the regular season (eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points in 62 games). In the post-season, he's averaging a point a game with five goals and 18 assists for 23 goals in 23 games.

"It's funny, that I was saying to myself watching him, Go more, take more chances.'" Ludwig said. "You don't usually do that with a young defenseman, but he already had a good understanding of what position he played, so he understood how far to go. To me, he always has made decisions knowing that he's a defenseman and his first job is help keep the puck out of the net. When you have that and have an offensive flare, that's the perfect mix."<br>Ludwig credits interim coach Rick Bowness for handling Heiskanen perfectly. Bowness was the assistant in charge of the defense last season and was elevated to interim head coach in December. He said that his conversations with Heiskanen are typically pretty brief.<br>"He nods his head at me like he knows exactly what I'm going to say, and I say,Yep,'" Bowness joked. "He reads the game extremely well."
Boucher was the head coach of the Quebec Remparts for five seasons and currently serves as their general manager. He said that helping to shape a unique talent is a challenge.
"I think you manage the person," Boucher said. "You worry about the state of the mind of the player and you try to make sure that he's confident and he trusts what you're doing as a team. I really do think you worry about the spirit of the player and then let his skill do the rest. Can I help him out through ups and downs, and can we look at things that we need as a team? Sure. But just make sure you're there for the kid.
"Once the game starts, if you know he understands the game plan and he knows what you want, you just have to let them play. The league has changed a lot. You don't hold players back now. You let them play, you let them express their talent."

Richard Matvichuk helped the Stars win the 1999 Stanley Cup and played in 796 NHL games. He then went on to serve as head coach of the Allen Americans, Missouri Mavericks and Prince George Cougars. He's currently serving as the hockey director of the Burnaby Winter Club.
Matvichuk said you can tell by watching Heiskanen on television that he's special.
"The biggest thing for me is the respect he already has from other coaches and other players. They talk about him as this 21-year-old kid who is controlling the game from the back end. When you have that respect from the opposition, you know that you really are making an impact on the game," Matvichuk said. "You look at some of the younger defensemen in the playoffs, and there have been some big mistakes.
"It's not about the skill, it's about experience and making the right choices. Heiskanen seems like he has that experience even at his age."
Matvichuk said he believes coaches understand that a player like Heiskanen needs a gentle touch. Plus, he said, all you have to do is watch him play to know he can help you win.
"I'm a firm believer in players nowadays that if they believe that you believe in them, then that's a huge success," Matvichuk said.

"For any defenseman to have composure, especially in the playoffs is special, and for him to have it already is really special. It really is making a five-foot pass or chipping it off the glass instead of trying to do an escape turn and hitting a guy on a breakaway at the wrong time of the game. Puck possession is such a huge part of the game, and if you have a player who can help you there, it really makes you a better team."
Heiskanen has drawn comparisons to Hall of Fame defensemen like Nick Lidstrom and Scott Niedermayer, but the former Stars defensemen said it takes time to build that level of career.
"Not yet," said Ludwig. "I think you look at guys likes Lidstrom and Neidermayer, and the key to their careers was consistency over a long period of time. I think we just have to sit back and let Miro play his career, a 12- or 15-year career, and then see what he can do. There's no reason he can't win big trophies."
Ludwig said Heiskanen has shown intelligent restraint and that's why he gets comparisons to players like Lidstrom.
"I think his decision-making is so impressive," Ludwig said. "His first pass isn't a floater, it's not going through three different defenders, it's a smart simple pass. He waits for the right time, he reads the play, and then he advances the puck at the right time to the right player.
"He's really good at making little reads that make his teammates better. You look at Jamie Oleksiak and you see how much better he is. Give Jamie all of the credit in the world for what he's done, but I definitely think Jamie is feeding off of Heiskanen."

And that, Zubov said, is the key to a team performance. Zubov stressed that he wanted to give credit to all of the Stars defensemen. John Klingberg has stepped his game up in the playoffs, so has Oleksiak. Esa Lindell is playing well, along with Andrej Sekera and Joel Hanley.
"It's a pleasure to watch him. Not just him, but the entire group of defensemen," Zubov said. "They have done a great job and I think you look at all of them, and I think that's something that has helped Heiskanen."
And maybe that's the best part of what Heiskanen has done at age 21. He helped the Stars have the second-lowest GAA in the league during the regular season and has helped them stay calm in some intense playoff situations.
So maybe they don't need to worry if he is the next Lidstrom. Maybe they should be happy he's the firstHeiskanen.
"The elite players in our league, it's tough to find comparisons," Bowness said. "For Miro, he's his own guy, he's his own style. He's an elite player at that young age, but a comparison would be tough just because of the way he plays. He's so reliable. He's not the physical guy, but you don't beat him very often. The offensive upside is huge because of his skating ability, his poise and his puck skills.
"I'd have a tough time comparing him to anybody."

Game 3: Stars vs. Lightning (series tied 1-1)

Wednesday, 7 p.m. CT
Where:Rogers Place, Edmonton
TV:NBCSN
Radio:The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.