Emil Heineman is ranked 3rd in goals among rookies

The two victories in two evenings of the Montreal Canadiens against the Detroit Red Wings have really been enjoyable to watch.

They brought a lot of joy to Canadiens fans, which hasn’t always been the case this season.

The players of the Tricolore truly provided us with a dream week with excellent performances, and above all, a lot of goals.

Besides Patrik Laine, who has been on fire with five goals in three games this week, other players have really stood out, including of course the members of the fourth line.

Once again last night, Jake Evans, Emil Heineman, and Joel Armia were excellent in each of their shifts.

And if we focus more on Heineman, well, for the first time in his career, he scored in two consecutive games.

With this streak, the Swedish rookie now has eight goals this season, which quietly places him 3rd in the rookie scoring race.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Indeed, with eight goals this season, Heineman is doing very well for a rookie, as he is only three goals behind the two star rookies, Matvei Michkov and Macklin Celebrini.

And even when looking at points, the Canadiens rookie ranks 6th among rookies with his 13 points in 32 games.

In short, even with his very limited ice time, Heineman manages to stand out and earn points at a very good pace for a fourth-line player.

He plays inspired hockey in each of his shifts, and he is currently very confident.

Heineman has an excellent work ethic, he is extremely intense, he plays very physically, and he has an excellent wrist shot.

In short, many elements point to an improved and younger version of Brendan Gallagher.

#Habgs Emil Heineman has Brendan Gallagher’s work ethic but is bigger, a better skater, has more skill and is nine years younger. I really like him as a player. I also really like Gallagher.

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 22, 2024

Heineman is currently on pace for 20 goals and 32 points, which is quite respectable for a rookie with an average ice time of about ten minutes per game.

Per 60 minutes, Heineman is scoring goals at a rate similar to that of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews this season.

Goals per 60 minutes

Rantanen 1.46
Kucherov 1.41
McDavid 1.39.
HEINEMAN 1.38
Matthews 1.33
Barkov 1.25
J. Hughes 1.07
Pastrnak 1.06
MacKinnon 1.03
Stutzle 1.03
Kopitar 0.95
Marner 0.83
EIchel 0.81
Crosby 0.80

— Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) December 22, 2024

In short, Heineman is truly a nice revelation this season for the Canadiens, and I believe no one would be against seeing him get a chance in the CH’s top-6, perhaps alongside Patrik Laine, for instance.

It would be interesting to see what Jake Evans and Emil Heineman could do as linemates with Patrik Laine at five-on-five. #HabsIO

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 22, 2024

This would be a great opportunity for Heineman, and maybe he would allow Laine to stand out more at five-on-five than with Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach.

If Heineman’s trial in the top-6 doesn’t work out, well, we can always put him back in his third/fourth line winger spot, where he’s doing very well.

Seriously, I believe that at 23 years old, Heineman will be an important cog for the Tricolore in the coming years.

In Brief
– The Rocket will be in action this afternoon.

Game day! It’s game day!

Place Bell
3:00 p.m.
BPM Sports / TSN690
RDS / AHLTV on @FloHockey
https://t.co/woBaNXKjUf#GoRocket pic.twitter.com/2dhZKStm4O

— Laval Rocket (@RocketLaval) December 22, 2024

– Summary of the performances of the various Habs prospects.

Habs Prospects Results 12/21/24

Sweden U20 2 Canada U20 4
Rasmus Bergqvist (1) 1 PTS

Admiral Vladivostok 2 SKA Saint-Petersburg 3 OT
Ivan Demidov (8) 1 PTS 5 SOG TOI 15:52

Olimpia Kirovo-Chepetsk 5 Gornyak-UGMK 4
Alexander Gordin 0 PTS

SC Bern 3 ZSC… pic.twitter.com/0Asfva3OBY

— HABS NATION (@CoachFrenchy10X) December 22, 2024

– To be continued.

Matt Rempe’s hearing will happen before the game against the Hurricanes today, so we will get clarity on his suspension pretty soon.

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) December 22, 2024

– Reading material.

Great interview with #NJDevils GM Tom Fitzgerald on the turnaround in New Jersey this season.

He breaks down his offseason acquisitions, Sheldon Keefe’s impact and more below: https://t.co/Uy0CSIcmMM

— Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) December 22, 2024