Dillon Heatherington

Lore & Background

Heatherington was acquired by the Dallas Stars from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the NHL trade deadline on March 1, 2017, in exchange for Lauri Korpikoski. He was assigned to the Texas Stars, Dallas's AHL affiliate, and recorded two goals and eight points in 22 games to close the 2016–17 season. He began the 2017–18 season with Texas and was called up by Dallas on January 13, 2018, to replace defenceman Marc Methot, who was placed on injured reserve. Heatherington made his NHL debut on January 18, 2018, against the team that drafted him, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

He recorded his first NHL point on February 9, 2018, assisting on Tyler Seguin's first-period goal in a shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He appeared in six games with Dallas that season before being returned to the AHL. He narrowly missed winning his second Calder Cup when the Texas Stars lost to the Toronto Marlies in seven games in the final. He underwent offseason wrist surgery in June 2018.

He re-signed with Dallas on July 16, 2018, to a one-year, two-way contract. He began the 2018–19 season with Texas but was recalled on November 2 after Dallas suffered a plethora of injuries. He played on the third pairing with Joel Hanley, appearing in five games and registering one point before being sent back to the AHL. He was recalled by Dallas on April 17, 2019, during the 2019 NHL playoffs and made his NHL playoff debut in Game 5 of Dallas's series with the St. Louis Blues, going scoreless.

In the 2019 offseason, he signed another one-year, two-way contract with Dallas on July 9. He was assigned to the AHL for the 2019–20 season, where he was named captain of the Texas Stars, the seventh in franchise history. The season was paused on March 12, 2020, and then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He left the Stars organization as a free agent after four seasons.

Reader's Guide

Dillon Heatherington's tenure with the Dallas Stars organization spanned four seasons from 2017 to 2020, during which he served primarily as a reliable AHL defenceman and occasional NHL call-up. He played 11 NHL games for Dallas, recording two points, and appeared in one NHL playoff game. His most significant role came in the AHL, where he played 209 regular-season games for the Texas Stars and was named team captain for the 2019–20 season. He helped Texas reach the Calder Cup Finals in 2018, where they lost to the Toronto Marlies in seven games.

Heatherington's NHL debut came against the team that drafted him, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he recorded his first NHL point on an assist to Tyler Seguin. His time in Dallas was marked by steady defensive play in the minors and brief opportunities at the NHL level, often stepping in due to injuries to the Stars' defence corps. After leaving Dallas, he continued his career in the KHL, NHL with Ottawa, AHL, and eventually Germany.