Since the beginning of the season, it can be said that Emil Heineman’s performance has been quite impressive.

Acquired from the Calgary Flames in the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to Alberta, the very first deal made by Kent Hughes shortly after his arrival in 2022, the young Swedish forward has already scored six goals so far in 24 games.

In fact, he ranks fourth in goals for the Canadiens since the start of the 2024-2025 season, and a former player of the organization sees parallels with another former Canadiens player who has had much success since leaving Montreal.

Emil Heineman, the new Artturi Lehkonen of the Montreal Canadiens?

During his appearance on the podcast The Sick Podcast With Tony Marinaro, Maxim Lapierre stated that he felt Emil Heineman resembled Artturi Lehkonen a lot.

Basically, the former player, now an analyst at TVA Sports, sees many similarities in the playing styles of the two European forwards.

«He has something special, and I want to see him get a real chance.

I don’t like comparing players, but I want people to have an idea of his future. You think of a guy like Artturi Lehkonen – a third or fourth-line player who never really got his chance here in Montreal, he was fast, he worked hard, he was always on the puck, I see a bit of him in Emil Heineman.

I think he’s a fast and smart player, he has a solid build and can play physically, I really like him.»

– Maxim Lapierre

 

This is somewhat promising for the young forward, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday a few weeks ago.

Just like Lehkonen, Heineman is a second-round pick, and both had to wait three years before making their NHL debut.

All that remains is to hope that the Canadiens’ number 51 becomes a regular forward in the lineup for several seasons, and who knows, he might score a game-winning goal that propels the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup final!