long before the recent scoring explosion in the SHL, and two seasons before Ryuuji Minamino became the first player to break both 50 and 60 goals in a season, Mitchell van der Heijden broke the SHL record for most goals in a season with 49 in S60. Agonizingly one goal short of 50 (he would've been the first to break 50 in SHL history), van der Heijden's season saw him win MVP and score 99 points, which at the time was the second-most in SHL history to Theo Morgan, who'd scored 102 in S59. Will this season likely be derided due to the fact that van der Heijden was on the Steelhawks? Probably. But I think, in my totally unbiased opinion, that the season deserves a bit more credit as a foreshadowing to the high scoring we're seeing nowadays. Plus, I think it's worth noting that van der Heijden scored 48 goals the year Minamino scored 60, which at the time was tied for the third-most goals in an SHL season ever. van der Heijden will go down (during his peak seasons) as one of the best goalscorers in SHL history.

player prompt