‘Just want to finish the season strong’ Jets’ Heinola opens up about mental health struggles By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:18 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 16, 2026

Ville Heinola stood in front of the media on Thursday morning, a few hours before suiting up for what likely is his final game as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, and laid his soul bare.

The 25-year-old defenceman, who has essentially become an afterthought for an organization that drafted him 20th overall back in 2019, was as open and candid as you’ll hear from any professional athlete.

“It’s been, mentally, probably the hardest year,” Heinola confessed. “It’s hard, and I struggle a lot, especially mentally.”

The Finnish skater revealed things got so bad at one point this year, in the midst of being a perpetual healthy scratch with the Jets, that he went and got professional help.

“I hired a mental (health) coach. That was a huge, huge help at the time, just to be able to talk somebody,” said Heinola.

“He’s actually an old player, too. So he kind of knows the feeling and knows how to kind of approach things. I just tried to talk to my family, my mental coach, just to not stay alone and just lay in bed and think about it. I think that’s the worst you can do. But yeah, when you go low mentally it’s hard to bounce back.”

Heinola said finally getting in the lineup this past Tuesday night in Utah — his first game in five weeks — was a real pick-me-up. It came only after the Jets had been eliminated from playoff contention a night earlier.

“That’s always a huge help. That’s what I love to do, it’s always fun to play,” he said. “But, yeah, it’s been super, super, super hard.”

So how did we get here? Where did it all go wrong for a talented player who, at one point, was seen as such a huge part of Winnipeg’s future?

“It’s hard, and I struggle a lot, especially mentally.”

Heinola made an immediate impact as an 18-year-old, scoring his first NHL goal and adding four assists during a memorable eight-game stint in the fall of 2019 that had then-coach Paul Maurice pining for more. The Jets ultimately sent Heinola back to Europe that fall, believing some more physical growth was required.

Turns out that would ultimately be the peak of his Jets tenure, with just 50 additional games (no goals, seven assists) over the next five seasons.

A crowded blue line, bolstered by trades and free-agent signings on a “win now” team, along with some injury issues, started getting in the way of full-time NHL work. There were several extended stints on the farm with the Manitoba Moose, essentially waiting for an opportunity that never really came.

Just when it looked like the door was finally open — he was slated to be in the opening-night lineup as the 2024-25 season began — it quickly slammed shut in the form of a broken ankle suffered in the final pre-season game.

The hockey gods can be cruel.

“Obviously that comes into mind once in a while, but I think it just hurts more when you think about it,” said Heinola. “And so you try not to think about it at all, but obviously it’s come into my head a couple times, and I feel like that could have been a big year for me. But, it’s hockey, that happens all the time. Guys get hurt, and you just have to figure it out.”

“When you go low mentally it’s hard to bounce back.”

For Heinola, that’s likely going to happen somewhere else. He becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer by virtue of not playing enough big-league games at this point in his career, and it’s unlikely an extended partnership with the Jets is in the cards.

Whether another NHL team comes along with an offer or he heads back overseas to continue playing remains to be seen.

“I haven’t really thought about that yet. I just want to finish the season strong here and enjoy the last game,” said Heinola, who was put on waivers out of training camp this past fall and went unclaimed by the other 31 teams.

Winnipeg’s track record when it comes to recent first-round picks isn’t great, with Heinola just one of several examples.

Kristian Vesalainen (2017) never panned out and ultimately returned to Europe. Chaz Lucius (2021) was forced to retire due to a medical condition before ever appearing in an NHL game. Rutger McGroarty (2022) refused to sign, forcing a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Throw in the fact the Jets traded their top pick in both 2018 and 2024 to bolster their playoff runs in those years, and that’s a lot of swings and misses for an organization that preaches the importance of drafting and development.

“It’s always better to be playing and obviously not happy with not playing for a long time.”

Last year, Jets head coach Scott Arniel declared that he was Heinola’s “biggest fan.” Yet that only resulted in 23 total games with the Jets in the past two seasons, including just five this year.

Does Heinola believe he got a fair shot to develop with the organization?

“That’s a tough question, and I don’t think I really have an answer for that right now,” he said.

“Obviously I don’t think it helps anybody to be not playing for a long time. I think it pretty much doesn’t matter where, but you just need to be playing to get better, and especially with the schedule that NHL has, it’s hard to get practice time on the ice, and so I think that makes it even more difficult to try to get better if you’re not playing.”

Heinola did appear in 44 games with the Moose to start this year, but the last couple of months have primarily involved bag skates and press-box duty.

“It’s always better to be playing and obviously not happy with not playing for a long time,” said Heinola.

“I think there’s definitely some things that I think could have worked out better and could have been done better. But, like I said, I think it’s a little too early for me to think about that and say things about that before I really have a good look after the season.”

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