Thats Miro: 19 stories about the Stars 19-year-old phenom
Back in September, on the first day of training camp, Stars coach Jim Montgomery was asked about the Finnish rookie who had been turning heads.
“Oh, Heiskanen, Jesus,” Montgomery said at the time. “Can he ever skate?”
Miro Heiskanen did more than just skate this season.
As a 19-year-old he played all 82 games and became just the third teenager in NHL history to log more than 1,800 minutes in a season. His 12 goals as a teenage defenseman ties him for sixth-most in NHL history. Four of the five players ahead of him are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Heiskanen has been showered with superlatives all season.
He’s been compared to legends and expected to reach lofty goals. He’s been defined as a franchise-changing defenseman, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any arguments to that statement after his rookie season.
So what’s the best way to look at an elite 19-year-old season?
How about 19 different stories?
1. Before the team left for Nashville, Montgomery was asked if he was at all worried about Heiskanen getting overwhelmed by the NHL playoffs.
“I think it’ll take him one shift to acclimate,” Montgomery said.
Bold statement about a teenager? Maybe.
But remember what happened on the second shift of his NHL career.
When Heiskanen first came to Dallas, the plan was for him to get eased into tough situations and big moments. Montgomery planned for him to reach his ideal level of play by Christmas.
The rookie smashed that learning curve in the first few minutes of his career.
2. Heiskanen could have made his North American debut last season and was originally going to attend training camp in 2017, but remained in Finland while dealing with a concussion.
After being cleared, Heiskanen had perhaps the busiest season of any prospect in Stars history.
He played for Team Finland at World Junior Championships, the Olympics, and at the IIHF World Championships. When not playing for Finland he was the best defenseman in Liiga and became the youngest-ever winner of the Pekka Rautakallio trophy.
“I think was pivotal in his career,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “An 18-year-old, first of all playing in a men’s league, and being the best defenseman in a men’s league, and then to go to the Olympics and then go to the World Championships against NHL players.”
The world championships provided Heiskanen’s first head-to-head matchup with world’s best player.
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“I still remember I was at the game when they played Canada and it was the first time he ever played against Connor McDavid,” Nill said. “And the first time Connor burned him. And after that Miro adjusted his game and it was no problem. You could see Miro knew he had to give him a bit more gap and a bit more space and he just adjusted.”
Heiskanen’s future teammates noticed as well.
“Right away, that’s when I knew how good he was,” John Klingberg said. “I watched him in the World Championships on TV and then obviously you heard how good, you know how good he is when he’s 18 or 19 and played at the Olympics. That’s pretty good, right?”
3. When Dallas won the third overall pick in the 2017 draft through the lottery, it was a matter of luck and picking the right person to send to Toronto.
While several teams sent general managers to the drawing, the Stars sent Player Development Coordinator Rich Peverley to represent their organization.
“We figured we’d pick the person with the best luck, it was just a guess that was Rich,” Nill said at the time.
By moving up to third, the Stars were in a position for Stars director of amateur scouting Joe McDonnell to select the top player on his board for the first time in his tenure in Dallas.
Other teams were after the pick. At one point there was an offer from the Vegas Golden Knights which involved the Stars moving back to No. 6 in exchange for Marc Methot.
But Dallas wasn’t interested in moving back and potentially giving up on Heiskanen.
The Stars were confident Nico Hischier would go first overall to the Devils. The hope was that the Philadelphia Flyers would take Nolan Patrick and leave Heiskanen available.
Based on their seating assignments, the NHL actually didn’t expect Heiskanen to be among the first three picks. While the first two selections were in the green room behind the stage, Heiskanen sat in the crowd at the United Center with his family when his name was announced.
4. The Stars had Heiskanen move to Dallas earlier in the summer to get acclimated to North America before training camp.
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This is a rather common occurrence for the Stars with their top European prospects. Heiskanen, however, didn’t need any help adjusting.
“Usually you are holding hands with these kids, he’s 19 years old,” Nill said. “Well I said, ‘Ok, here is what we’re doing,’ and he said ‘Don’t worry, I already talked to Esa with where to kind to live.’ He knew he had to get a driver’s license, it’s not like we had to take him to get things like, like going to get social security (number), he just said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got it.’ And that’s just him, that’s Miro.”
5. Former Stars winger and Team Finland general manager Jere Lehtinen may be soft-spoken, but he’s always been a straight shooter when talking about players.
What he had to say about Heiskanen, or better yet what he didn’t have to say, may have been the most telling thing.
“He’s ready for the NHL, he can really play,” Lehtinen told me while in Dallas for the 2018 NHL Draft. “He’ll be good.”
But what will he have to figure out to be ready for the NHL?
“I can’t think of anything he needs to work on.”
6. Heiskanen learned to skate at the age of two. From there he was hooked on hockey.
He also played soccer as a child, but as his parents Jukka and Mia remember, he never wanted to do anything else.
Jukka was his son’s first coach and teacher on the ice. Even as a toddler Heiskanen wanted to be on the ice. Jukka would often get home from work and Miro would be waiting by the door, holding a stick and skates and asking to go to the rink.
His calm demeanor was also ingrained at a young age. Mia remembers moments from Heiskanen’s youth career, big goals or wins, when Miro would simply smile and nod rather than celebrate like the other kids on his team.
7. Rasmus Dahlin was the most hyped teenage defenseman coming into this season; understandable, considering he was the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
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Taylor Fedun was in training camp with the Buffalo Sabres and so far is one of two players in the NHL to have played with both Heiskanen and Dahlin in his career.
“I started in the Sabres organization and all you heard about was Dahlin,” Fedun said. “Then when I came here when I saw how (Heiskanen) plays, I don’t understand why he wasn’t talked about at least as much as Dahlin. Obviously, two very different teams we play on so his offensive numbers aren’t quite as high, but (Heiskanen) is special. The way he defends at such a young age is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s insane,” Fedun added. “It’s like you get the one-in-a-million golfer that never had a swing coach because they just know how to do it. I don’t know if that’s an apt comparison or not, but he is certainly good at what he does.”
8. The Stars haven’t done any one-on-one film work with Heiskanen this season.
Seriously.
“No, most young D you are breaking down video every game,” Stars assistant coach Rick Bowness said. “Miro’s hockey IQ is so high, we talked a lot during the games. You say, ‘You see that Miro?’ And he gets it. He sees those things. We do a lot of team video with everybody, but we’ve never sat down with just him to go over video.”
Bowness runs the Stars defense and says Heiskanen’s hockey IQ stood out on Day 1 of the team’s training camp back in Boise, Idaho.
“Watch a player in drills, watch a player in exhibition games and you understand their hockey IQ right away,” Bowness said. “I’ve always said this about him. The skill, the speed, it all jumps out. But the poise that he plays with jumps out right to me. And the confidence with that hockey IQ, it’s just elite.”
9. There is a Finnish corner in the Stars locker room at American Airlines Center.
Lindell and Heiskanen sit along the one wall, while Julius Honka and Roope Hintz sit next to them along the other wall to form the corner.
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The group is rather loud, and most of the locker room doesn’t understand them.
“I don’t know what they’re saying. No one does, they are speaking Finnish,” Tyler Pitlick said, who sits next to Hintz.
Pitlick says he has picked up one phrase from the Finns.
Vittu perkele.
The versatile phrase doesn’t translate well to English. Let’s just say you likely wouldn’t want to use that language around children.
So when they aren’t swearing, what are the Finns talking about?
“We are lucky no one understands us,” Lindell said. “I would we are talking about everything in the games and talking about hockey. During games it’s about the plays in the game. At practice, we are talking about Finland, the Finnish league, some other players.”
Because of the time difference, the Finns don’t watch much of Liiga live, but they keep track of the standings and catch highlights. All four are well-versed on the rosters and have friends playing back home.
When they aren’t talking hockey the conversation turns to Finnish TV shows.
“Or when somebody does something stupid in Finland,” Lindell said. “Then we talk about it.”
“We just talk about normal things,” Heiskanen said.
10. “Again?”
Lindell retorts when asked for his favorite Heiskanen story.
“You do like five stories a week for Miro,” Lindell said.
It’s not that frequent, Esa. But the point is taken.
We’ll ask Miro about you.
How much did Lindell help your transition to North America?
“I think just at beginning of the season, after that I have done everything. He hasn’t had to help that much,” Heiskanen said. “But before the season he was a big help.”
Does it help to have him nearby in the locker room?
“Oh, yeah, he’s funny.”
11. Heiskanen is one of the easiest players for the Stars equipment staff to deal with.
“Sometimes you just forget he’s even there,” head equipment manager Steve Sumner said.
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Heiskanen lets his skates grow dull; it’s better for his overall glide. If not for urging from the equipment staff he’d likely never change his equipment.
“We actually had to tell him he was allowed to change his stick,” Sumner said. “I think we were in New Jersey and he kept using the same stick, just re-taping it, and we had to say, ‘Miro, you know you can get another stick, right?’ And he just said, ‘Oh, it’s good.’”
That reputation followed Heiskanen when he went to the NHL All-Star game. When Heiskanen met the Sharks equipment staff in San Jose he was told, “Oh we’ve heard about you, you’re one of the easiest guys to work with.”
12. Heiskanen has always been a dog person.
His family had dogs when he grew up, and his parents still have a pair of Chihuahuas back in Finland. In Dallas Heiskanen and his girlfriend, Julia Taka-Aho, have a pair of Pomeranians named Leo and Max.
Heiskanen said he has always enjoyed small dogs, and added that it’s much easier to transport Pomeranians from Finland than it would to bring over a larger dog.
The dogs help Heiskanen feel at home in Dallas.
“Dallas really isn’t that different than Finland,” Heiskanen said. “It’s no big change, pretty similar. Just lots of hockey and hanging out with girlfriend and dogs. It’s not that big difference for me.”
Heiskanen added that his girlfriend has really enjoyed living in Dallas, and likes the small Finnish community that’s been created by having four Finns on the same team.
13. Heiskanen has stayed connected with his friends back in Finland and often plays NHL19 on his Playstation 4 in the early afternoons, which translates to roughly 10 p.m. back in Finland.
Does he play as the Stars?
“No, I play with my friends and we have our own players we created,” Heiskanen said.
So you created yourself in a game you are already in?
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“Oh, yeah, it’s fun,” Heiskanen said.
14. The Stars front office and fans held their collective breath when Heiskanen wiped out during the fastest skater competition at the NHL All-Star game.
Heiskanen was given a second chance and circled the rink in 13.914 seconds, dialing it back around the corners after the wipeout. He finished with the fourth-best time.
Before taking part in the competition, the teenager was getting a tour of the California coast for a feature on the Stars website. On the way back to San Jose, about six hours before the event, Heiskanen ate a pair of McDoubles.
15. Heiskanen doesn’t think much about accolades or honors.
And nothing about his living quarters indicates he plays in the NHL.
No jerseys hanging. No milestone puck mounted. Not even a picture to remember a certain hockey memory.
Nothing.
There is, however, a Dallas Stars schedule magnet on the fridge.
16. Heiskanen has been compared to three defensemen who were selected among the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players, which the league announced in 2017.
When he was drafted Niklas Lidstrom was a popular comparison, a narrative that could fit but is probably more connected to his European status and Jim Nill’s connection to Detroit.
From a playing standpoint, Heiskanen more closely fits the games of Scott Niedermeyer and Duncan Keith. Niedermeyer was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 and Keith will likely join him there after his retirement.
When the Stars played the Devils back on Jan. 2 Ken Daneyko, Niedermeyer’s long-time defensive partner, was in attendance as part of the Devils broadcast crew.
“For me, Niedermeyer is the gold standard. Getting compared to Scotty is pretty much the highest praise you can give,” Daneyko said. “Best skating defenseman I’ve ever seen. I can’t think of a better skater and I go back to Paul Coffey, as far as effortless in the game and smooth. He could have had way gaudier numbers but he just became such a complete defenseman and he controlled the whole tempo of the game.”
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“Heiskanen has got a ways to do that (control the whole game),” Daneyko added. “But I’ve watched him a bit, and he’s a guy who’s very smooth and has all the tools and potential and skating ability. I’ve got to watch more tonight, but I’ve never seen anybody skate like Scott Niedermeyer. And I mean anybody.”
Later that night Heiskanen scored twice against the Devils, notching the game-winning goal in the third period when he skated through everyone and roofed a backhand into the upper corner.
I ran into Daneyko when he was leaving the rink, heading to the team plane with the Devils.
“Kid is the real deal,” he said.
17. Roman Polak has been Heiskanen’s defensive partner for the majority of the season. In theory, he would be one of the best people to judge the teenager’s growth from Game 1 to 82.
“He looks like he wasn’t even growing, he came here ready,” Polak said. “He did everything by his plan and he did everything well, and he did it from the beginning. Since he got here he looks the same. He got here with a great release, great poise with the puck, doesn’t panic in the tough situations. Exact same thing. That’s Miro.”
How have things worked out for that pairing when it comes to on-ice communication?
“We know each other and know the reads and when I sometimes do something bad or something, so he just make a read and we don’t even have to talk out there and he covers,” Polak said. “We talk before the faceoffs and stuff, but other than it’s all about the reads. And he’s always making great reads.”
18. Heiskanen has an elite shot. It’s one of the reasons he’s scored a dozen goals this season.
Stars goalie Landon Bow has been around the NHL team for extended stretches this season and is currently serving as the third-string goalie during the playoffs. In Bow’s role he’s often on the ice late, which is when Heiskanen will occasionally work on his shot after practice.
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“His release is ridiculous,” Bow said. “The way he can get that release with very little motion or how he can catch the puck and shoot like he does, without having to stickhandle, it’s ridiculous.”
19. There’s a healthy ego in Heiskanen’s game.
He’s not cocky, but he knows that he’s able to do things with the puck that very few people on the planet are capable of.
“The funny thing with Miro is the unbelievable plays he makes, the ones that everybody notices,” Montgomery said. “It’s when you notice genius in his play and when you talk to him about it, he’s like, ‘Oh, you are recognizing my genius.”
(Photo: Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
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