NHL coaches, players, execs rank Stars’ Miro Heiskanen among league’s ‘elite category’ of defensemen

Not a lot has gone right for the Dallas Stars this season, to put it mildly.

However, Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen continues to be a bright spot.

In ESPN’s ranking of the top 10 defensemen in 2021, Heiskanen was ranked fifth overall.

The rankings were compiled based on ESPN’s survey of 10 active NHL players (seven skaters, three goaltenders) and 10 individuals in team hockey operations (coaches, general managers, player personnel executives). Each player ranked was assigned a score based on where each voter ranked them. Players who were ranked No. 1 earned 10 points, No. 2 earned nine points and so on.

Of a possible 200 points, Heiskanen received 84. He made the top five on eight ballots and the top 10 on 16 ballots. The 21-year-old Heiskanen was the youngest player in the top 10. Stars defenseman John Klingberg was one of a few who barely missed the cut, finishing with 23 points.

Since the Stars selected Heiskanen with the third overall pick in the 2017 draft, he’s hit the ground running.

In 36 games this season, Heiskanen has 15 assists and five goals. Through the first two and a half seasons of his career, he has 63 assists and 25 goals. But where Heiskanen really put himself on the map was during last year’s Stanley Cup Final run, during which he recorded 20 assists and six goals in 27 games.

“I’ve noticed him. Especially the way he played in the playoffs. When I first saw him play when he came into the league, he was very poised for his age. He’s been getting better and better as well,” Hockey Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom told ESPN. “He’s a better skater than me. I was mobile, but I wasn’t as fast as Miro is. Maybe that’s one player that plays similar to my style, but probably a notch better skater, or faster skater, than I was.”

Some of those surveyed raved about the Stars’ young prodigy, even saying he should have been ranked ahead of No. 2 Cale Makar from Colorado.

“The best defensemen are efficient,” one NHL coach told ESPN. “They create a lot without giving up much. That’s what Heiskanen does. He’s in the elite category.”

Another coach: “He’s legit… I really like Miro. He’s got some flaws, but so does Makar.”

With Heiskanen at 21 years old and Makar at 22, the debate about the ranking of these two young stars is sure to continue for years to come.