Heimosalmi has done useful stabilization work on his North American file in his second Chicago season. Carolina reassigned him to the Wolves at the end of camp, and he opened the year on Chicago’s roster. Through April 2, he had four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 43 AHL games, already topping last season’s 14 points in 56. Chicago’s own coverage also points to a more assertive, involved defender, from a goal-and-assist night against Milwaukee on Dec. 5 to an insurance goal on Feb. 19, with the club separately highlighting his physical play during the season. The skating still gives him a chance, but the offense still reads as secondary support rather than true driver value, so the projection remains a depth, puck-moving defenseman who has to win coaches over with cleaner defensive detail under pressure. Carolina’s contract tracker lists him as an RFA, so this next stretch is about proving he belongs on a real NHL recall track instead of drifting back toward organizational filler.

Heimosalmi’s second AHL season has shown meaningful improvement in at least one key area – a plus-6 this year compared to a team-worst minus-29 last season is a significant turnaround and suggests the defensive deficiencies that defined his first year in Chicago have been addressed to some degree. Four goals and 12 points in 42 games is modest but represents a step forward. The underlying concerns haven’t disappeared entirely – undersized at 5-11 and not producing enough offensively to carry a roster spot on those merits alone – but the plus-minus improvement is a genuine data point worth acknowledging. Trending toward organizational depth without a clear NHL path.

The 5-11 defenseman played 56 games in the AHL in 2024-25, registered 14 points and a whopping -29, which was a team worst. As a whole the Chicago Wolves did not defend well as a majority of their team had a negative plus minus differential. Considering Heimosalmi is under sized, defensively porous, and doesn’t produce much offensively, he may never reach the NHL level if his defending doesn’t improve. This suggests a low likelihood for fantasy relevance for him, and he is likely headed back to Europe in the not so distant future.

After spending time with the Carolina Hurricanes during the prospect camp as well as a stint in the NHL training camp, Heimosalmi was loaned out to Assat in the Finnish Liiga. In 28 games, Heimosalmi has a goal and 8 assists for 9 points. His skating continues to be his biggest asset and his ability to move the puck on the power play is also impressive. His contract with Assat runs through the 2025/2026, so Heimosalmi is still a few years away from potentially making a NHL debut.

Heimosalmi had an up-and-down season for Assat in the Liiga. Putting up 15 points in 45 games, as well as halving his penalty minutes, is technically an improvement from 2021-22 in which he only had 3 points and 24 penalty minutes. His play in the World Juniors was somewhat encouraging, especially in the minutes he played, lining up as the top-pairing defenseman most of the time and playing on both the power play and the penalty kill. Heimosalmi is still a few years away from seeing valuable NHL time, and his current projection is around a bottom-pairing defenseman with some power play and penalty kill potential.