Montreal Canadiens loan forward Emil Heineman to Sweden’s SHL

The Montreal Canadiens got another player back from injury in, Emil Heineman. The forward has not logged time in a Habs uniform yet but has recovered from his thumb injury. The 21-year-old is a native of Sweden, and the Habs opted to send him home.

For the Montreal Canadiens, he may not have been headed toward the NHL roster, but he’s a second-rounder from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft that was acquired when the Habs traded Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames.

The Swedish native played in 2021-22 with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and has been loaned back there for the 2022-23 season since he returned from injury. It will be a good opportunity for him to keep furthering along his development and aim to make some strides.

Montreal Canadiens forward Emil Heineman was loaned to Sweden.

He may have missed time early on with his thumb injury but has the rest of the season ahead of him. Heineman is coming off a 2021-22 season where he played in 38 games for Leksands IF of the SHL.

During his time with the Swedish professional league, he had 11 goals and five assists for 16 total points in the SHL. The year before that, in 2020-21, Heineman logged 43 games where he scored only seven goals and added six assists for 13 total points.

Heineman was a younger player at the time but could hold his own in the SHL game. For the Habs, it allows them to give the young forward a chance to develop and grow his game further. He seems like a candidate to join Laval next season after spending another season overseas honing in on his skill set.

For the Canadiens and other teams, plenty of players come to the North American game and continue to make leaps on the road to Brossard to suit up in a Habs uniform. While he was not a draft pick of the Habs, there’s intrigue from the front office on what he can bring to the table moving forward.

Another year in Sweden might be best for him to keep filling out the frame, which already sits 6-foot-1, 185-pounds. It might be a chance for Heineman to beef up and add some muscle to allow him to be stronger on the stick and produce a better quality of offense.

Now that Heineman is healthy, he has been officially loaned overseas to continue his development path for the Montreal Canadiens organization.