It has been a busy year for Miro Heiskanen and it’s not over yet.

The talented defenseman opened it at the junior world championship in Buffalo before becoming a mainstay on the Finnish men’s national team at the next two top tournaments: the Pyeongchang Olympics and the ongoing world championship.

In that time the 18-year-old has established himself as a reliable defenseman who has passed the test against top NHL talents at the tournament in Denmark. He plays in the top unit Kentavius Street Jersey , meaning he has to stop the offensive aces of the opposition and that’s exactly what he has done.

NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid could attest to that.

On Saturday, Finland upset star-studded Canada captained by McDavid 5-1 and Heiskanen contributed a great deal.

He played 18:25 but his best moment came in the middle period when Canada was trailing 3-1 and desperately pressing to score. At one point, McDavid had just an empty net in front of him. Goaltender Harri Sateri was still at the far post and McDavid’s shot from the left circle was heading for goal.

But then Heiskanen came seemingly out of no where to Finland’s rescue, tipping the puck to safety.

”It was almost in the net but I hit the puck,” Heiskanen said. ”It was a good save.”

When the two met in the third period, the result was a two plus two-minute penalty for high sticking for a frustrated McDavid, effectively ending Canada’s chances of a comeback.

Finland captain Mikael Granlund praised Heiskanen.

”I have seen him at the games here and nothing really surprises me about him,” Granlund said. ”The way he skates, the way he handles the puck and sees the ice. He can play these games. He’s been really, really good this tournament. He’s got a great career ahead of him.”

The obvious next step is the NHL.

The Dallas Stars picked him with the third overall selection in the 2017 NHL draft and signed him to a three-year entry level contract. He spent last season on loan with IFK Helsinki where he played since he was 17.

He finished with 23 points including 11 goals in the regular season and added three goals and nine points in the playoffs.

He said the transition has not been a problem.

”It was tough sometimes but mostly quite easy because I play with smarter players. Of course Jared Cook Jersey , the play is faster than at the junior category and I face stronger guys,” he said.

The Denmark tournament proved he is ready to stop the best.

”It’s nice to face those guys and see where I am,” Heiskanen said. ”It’s a good test to play them, maybe I will play them next year in the NHL. I want to play there as soon as possible, that’s my goal.”

There’s no doubt that he has the skills to make him a highly effective defenseman. But he knows he still has homework to do.

”I have to practice hard this summer and get little bit stronger,” he said.

It’s not clear when he might get the call from Dallas, though it’s likely to be sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, he has to do what hockey rookies have to do: after practice with the Finnish national team, he can be found staying late on the ice and picking up pucks.
Several prominent players across the NFL have skipped mandatory minicamps this week, subjecting themselves to team fines out of concern for their contract status in a league where so little is guaranteed.

Everyone is accounted for in Minnesota Reggie Nelson Jersey , where good vibes from the top of the organization to the bottom of the roster can only help the Vikings in their attempt to better their NFC championship game appearance from last season.

"All these guys, they like to be around each other. So I think that's part of it," coach Mike Zimmer said. "We've got a lot of really good guys on this football team who care about not just them, but they care about each other. It's kind of just the way we do things."

Savvy salary cap management steered by executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski has allowed the Vikings to put the majority of their stars in mutually beneficial multi-year deals, but outside linebacker Anthony Barr, wide receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive end Danielle Hunter have all entered 2018 on expiring contracts that must be addressed soon unless the Vikings are willing to let them become free agents and potentially price the club out on the open market.

Still, all three of them have been practicing with the team this week, clearly confident enough in their future earnings to opt for full participation over mild protest. Barr, for his part, missed one week of organized team activities last month Eric Weddle Jersey , an absence he said was to secure an insurance policy in case of a severe injury that would derail the value of his next deal. He said recently his hope was to have a new contract in place by the beginning of on-field workouts in May, but that's the closest anyone has come to even hinting about dissatisfaction.

Barr is among the 2014 first-round draft picks who've reached their first career crossroad, playing the fifth option year that the majority of teams have exercised for cost control. Then there are the post-first round 2015 picks such as Hunter and Diggs who've entered the fourth season of their rookie deals.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan and Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack have created headlines around the league for staying home this week from minicamp.

"My job is to come in to work, just like you come in to work the same way," Hunter said. "My job is to come in and get on this field and play football."

Clearly, he's been listening to the head coach Jason Verrett Jersey , as have many of his teammates.

"That's one thing Zim has taught us since he's been here: No one player is more important than the team," Hunter said. "So I guess that kind of grew into the program. The team is way bigger than one person. In order to help the team, you've got to do your job. And we want to be great. We want to be where we need to be. Last year, it wasn't close to that, so we've got to work for that again."
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