Ville Heinola fully recognizes what is at stake for him.

The Winnipeg Jets defenceman has been around long enough to know that he’s clearly at a crossroads as he works his way through training camp.

Although he’s not that far removed from being a front-runner to becoming a third-pairing regular, a series of injuries opened the doors for others to leapfrog him on the organizational depth chart.

Now that he’s back to full health, Heinola is aiming to get back to the player he was before a freak ankle injury in the final exhibition game of 2023 impeded his progress and has basically been a hindrance ever since.

“I’m trying to go into training camp without thinking about anything, I’m just trying to go out there and play,” Heinola said before suiting up in Tuesday’s exhibition game against

See Full Page