Another "Gut Punch" for Jets' Ville Heinola, Out Indefinitely With "Infection"

Another brutal break for Winnipeg Jets former first-rounder Ville Heinola, who, after missing all of this past NHL season due to ankle surgery, has now developed an infection in the ankle that will keep him out indefinitely.

#NHLJets coach Scott Arniel on Ville Heinola's latest injury setback (infection on his surgically-repaired ankle that has him out indefinitely).

"It hits you in the gut, especially after what happened last year."
— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) September 20, 2024

"It hits you in the gut," said Jets head coach Scott Arniel, "especially after what happened last year."

Last year, the 23-year-old had to go under the knife after fracturing his ankle in a preseason game, and was limited to half a season with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL. He fared quite well in the 41 games he played, registering 27 points and a plus/minus rating of +6.

The infection, which was discovered during the pre-camp medicals, is said to be related to a screw that was inserted in his ankle from the surgery.

Arniel says they don’t know yet what the next steps are for Heinola, but did say the expectation is that he’s going to be out for a while.

"Ville, it's not so good," Arniel said on Friday. "This isn't day-to-day. We'll come back around this in maybe a week or so, maybe see where he's at. A little bit more serious than what we'd like."

Heinola was the 20th overall selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He has only managed to play in 35 NHL games in four seasons since then, much of it due to injury troubles.

Now his hopes of cracking the Jets' top-six on the blueline for this year have taken a huge hit once again.