Three NHL Prospect Defensemen Who Could Use a Change of Scenery

Winnipeg's Ville Heinola, Vancouver's Jack Rathbone and Los Angeles' Jordan Spence could all use a fresh start with another NHL club for their development, writes Jacob Stoller.

It's the second part of a two-part series on NHL prospects who could use a change of scenery.

In part 1, we examined three forwards who each had been derailed by injuries in their first few years of pro hockey. This time, we’ll be highlighting three highly skilled defensemen — all of which are listed under six feet.

Not much has changed for Heinola since his agent, Allain Roy, spoke to The Hockey News in the fall about his client's frustration with the lack of NHL opportunities he’s gotten.

“Ville doesn’t deserve a guaranteed spot in the lineup,” Roy said back in November. “He deserves a shot to play a run of games to show he can do it. And that’s all we’re asking for.”

Unfortunately for Heinola’s camp, the remainder of his 2022-23 campaign played out exactly like the year prior. The 22-year-old defenseman played in just 10 NHL games — two fewer than last season — and spent most of the year in the AHL, where he was one of the league’s elite defensemen for a second straight year. 

In 48 AHL games last season, Heinola led all AHL defensemen with 0.46 primary assists per game and finished tied for ninth in points per game with 0.77, according to AHLtracker.com. Heinola also ate big minutes, averaging a team-high 22:59 time on ice per game.

“His growth has been significant over the last few years,” one former AHL coach told The Hockey News via text. “He’s ready for full-time duty in the NHL. In the AHL, he controlled the pace of the game and was very impactful on a game-to-game track.”

But unfortunately for Heinola, the Jets have a logjammed back end.

The Jets currently have seven other NHL defensemen under contract for next season — Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt, Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon, Dylan Samberg and Kyle Capobianco. Plus, they still have RFA Logan Stanley to sign, not to mention Declan Chisholm, another budding young puck-moving defenseman who is no longer waiver-exempt starting next season.

Right or wrong, NHL coaches are known to be very risk-averse. While undersized, puck-moving mobile defensemen are a huge part of today’s NHL — with the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche’s blueline being a prime example. Even still, a lot of coaches tend to shy away from having those types of players on the outer edges of their blueline. And that’s a huge reason why Heinola has struggled to get an opportunity over the likes of Samberg and Stanley.

However, Heinola is far from a defensive liability. He posted the 11th-fewest expected goals against per 60 minutes at even strength among AHL blueliners, according to InStat.

“He is sturdier and better committed to the defensive side of the game than most young, mobile, puck-moving defensemen,” said the former AHL coach.

One NHL scout pointed out that Heinola possesses plenty of positive defensive attributes.

“He closes gaps quickly – he’s competitive,” the scout told The Hockey News. “Despite being a lighter body, he’s efficient in how he checks.”

If the Jets don’t foresee Heinola being part of their short-term plans, they’d be wise to trade him sooner rather than later to recoup some asset capital. His value will only plummet if they send him back to the minors next year, which is a very real possibility given that Heinola is waiver exempt.

Rathbone’s stock has gone for a wild ride since turning pro at the start of the 2020-21 season.

In the span of three years, the 2017 fourth-round pick has gone from appearing like a future top-four defenseman in his first year as a pro — when the Canucks had him on their taxi squad — to somewhat of an afterthought this past season.

Fresh off recording 40 points in 39 games with the Abbotsford Canucks and being named to the AHL’s all-rookie team in 2021-22, Rathbone made the Canucks roster out of training camp last fall. But the 24-year-old only suited up for six of the team’s first 22 games before being re-assigned to the minors in late November.

“His defending and defensive instincts are what really hinder his ability to be an NHL- regular,” one NHL scout told The Hockey News.

To Rathbone’s credit, though, he put together a strong stretch of games at the AHL level this year — displaying a much more responsible and well-rounded style of play. Rathbone was recalled yet again in late March and suited up for another five NHL games. However, if it weren’t for Vancouver’s three late-season NCAA additions — including D-men Cole McWard and Akito Hirose — that number probably would’ve been higher.

Here’s the thing with Rathbone: at his stature and with his defensive shortcomings, he must be a stud offensively. But in 28 career NHL games spread across the last three seasons, Rathbone has recorded just five points. At best, he’s looked like a specialty player capable of quarterbacking the second power-play unit but needing to be sheltered at even strength. Granted, you’d be hard-pressed to find many coaches deploying a player like that on their bottom defense duo.

Rathbone is no longer exempt from waivers and will be duking it out with Matt Irwin and Guillaume Brisebois for the Canucks’ final blueline spot at training camp this year.

With Vancouver’s sights set on making the playoffs, it’s hard to envision coach Rick Tochett giving Rathbone the type of leash he needs to maximize his potential. And if that turns out to be the case, it might be wise for Vancouver to sell high on Rathbone — if they can — instead of losing him for free on waivers.

Spence, 22, could be an everyday NHL player for many organizations.

“If you look at some of the smaller defensemen around the NHL that are really good offensive defensemen, I think Spence skates as well as a lot of those guys,” said one AHL player who has seen plenty of Spence at that level.

In 102 AHL games spread across the last two seasons, Spence has combined for the fourth-most points per game among all defensemen (0.85), according to AHLtracker.com. 

In 2021-22, Spence was named to the AHL's first all-star team as a rookie. He also suited up for 24 NHL games during that campaign, recording eight points and a 55-percent expected goals-for percentage during 5-on-5 play, according to naturalstattrick.com.

This past season, Spence only played six NHL games, though it was no fault of his own. In 2022-23, the Kings had Drew Doughty, Matt Roy and Sean Walker ahead of him on the right side. Sean Durzi, a right shot, had shifted to the left. Top prospect Brandt Clarke was with the team to start the year, too.

“I think Spence is a better player than Durzi was at that age,” said the aforementioned AHL player.

Even with Durzi and Walker out the door, it’s no slam dunk that Spence cracks Los Angeles’ top six. Doughty and Roy are locked on the right side, leaving Spence and Clarke to duke it out for the final right-handed defenseman spot. It’s fair to say Clarke, ranked ninth in The Hockey News’ recent Future Watch issue, has the upper hand going into camp.

The Kings could conceivably sell high on Spence to recoup some draft capital, as they did with Durzi. But the odds are that won’t come for another year's time as having Spence battling with Clarke, or taking the reigns if the latter isn’t ready, is a luxury you don’t want to pass up on.

Nevertheless, barring some master roster reconfiguration, it’s hard to foresee Spence reaching his ceiling in Los Angeles.