Islanders are new adventure for young forward Emil Heineman
Islanders right wing Julien Gauthier, right, sets before a face off against Montreal Canadiens left wing Emil Heineman at UBS Arena on Oct. 19, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Emil Heineman was home in Sweden when he first learned he might become an ex-Canadien.
“My agent called at like 5 o’clock Swedish time, ‘there’s some rumors going around, I just want to give you a heads- up,’ ” the Islanders forward said on Saturday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow in his first public comments on Long Island. “So I went to a soccer game and, during that time, I started to check out New York a little bit, where everything is.”
Heineman, 23, acquired from the Canadiens on June 27 as part of the package for defenseman Noah Dobson, participated along with many of his new teammates in the annual Anders Lee-hosted Jam Kancer in the Kan charity event.
Since 2016, the Islanders captain’s efforts have helped raise more than $3.2 million for children in the local community, and co-organizer Jamey Crimmins said this year’s event met its goal of $150,000 on Saturday and ultimately will surpass $200,000 with an auction.
The other benefit to Lee’s preseason event is it’s become a team-bonding experience, especially for new additions such as Heineman and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, who lost his mother to cancer last year.
“It’s kind of turned into that a little bit, just secondarily,” Lee said of the bonding. “It’s not the focus of the day. But we get to hang out with some of the young kids. Some of the new guys get to hang out with us and just continue to kick this off. That first month of getting everyone back together, we’re trying to become a unit and a team.”
Training camp opens on Thursday. Saturday also marked the third day of the Islanders’ rookie camp, with fans again able to attend that practice, nearly filling the stands.
The 6-2, 198-pound Heineman will enter training camp expected to be an upgrade to the Islanders’ fourth line after notching 10 goals and eight assists in 62 games for the Canadiens as an NHL rookie. He plays an energetic game with solid defense and a strong forecheck.
He called joining the Islanders “a new adventure for me and my girlfriend, too. I’m really excited.
“Last year, I started off and I didn’t think or know I would make the team,” Heineman said. “After a while, you feel more comfortable. It was a tough break in the middle. Overall, I’m really proud of what I brought last year and really learned how to play in the NHL.”
He missed time after being hit by a car while walking in Salt Lake City in January.
Notes & quotes: Defenseman Kashawn Aicheson, the 17th overall pick in this June’s NHL Draft, missed Day 3 of rookie camp for maintenance . . . Forward Maxim Tsyplakov, who notched 10 goals and 25 assists in 77 games as a rookie, said he learned a hard lesson in the rigors of the NHL last season. “Last year I was tired after camp,” he said. “For two weeks, I didn’t have a day off. I started the season, I played with emotion but my body was tired. First time in my life.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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