Dany Heatley

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Heatley was born in Freiburg to Karin and Murray Heatley, where his father played professional hockey. When Murray retired from hockey, the family settled in Calgary, Alberta. Playing minor hockey in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) for the Calgary Buffaloes, Heatley tallied 91 points in 36 games in 1997–98 to earn the Harry Allen Memorial Trophy as the league's top scorer. He went on to lead the Buffaloes to the bronze medal at the 1998 Air Canada Cup, where he finished as both Top Scorer and Tournament MVP. As Heatley intended to play college hockey in the United States, he joined the Junior A ranks in 1998–99 with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) to maintain his NCAA eligibility. Recording 70 goals and 126 points in 60 games, he was named AJHL and Canadian Junior A Player of the Year. The following season, he began his two-year tenure with the University of Wisconsin Badgers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). As a freshman, he was named to the WCHA first All-Star team and NCAA West Second All-American Team, in addition to earning WCHA Rookie of the Year honours. In the off-season, he was drafted second overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2000 NHL entry draft, behind goaltender Rick DiPietro. After his sophomore year, in which he was named to the 2001 WCHA Second All-Star and NCAA West First All-American Teams, Heatley chose to forgo his final two years of college eligibility to turn pro with the Thrashers.

In Their Own Story

In his first game for the Senators, against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 5, 2005, Heatley played with Jason Spezza and Brandon Bochenski. When the Senators were down with five minutes to go, Daniel Alfredsson replaced Bochenski and scored the tying goal. As 2005–06 was the first year the NHL implemented the shootout, Heatley became the second player to score in an NHL shootout, scoring against Leafs goalie Ed Belfour, after Alfredsson. Their sticks are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Later that month, on October 29, Heatley scored four consecutive goals in an 8–0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, marking a career high for goals in a game. Heatley made a spectacular start with his new team, registering points in the first 22 games of the 2005–06 season, breaking Marián Hossa's previous franchise record of 13 consecutive games. Among players with new teams, this was behind only Wayne Gretzky's 23-game streak upon joining the Los Angeles Kings during the 1988–89 season.

Reader's Guide

Heatley made his NHL debut with the Thrashers in 2001–02, leading all rookies in points (67) and assists (41) and was second in team goal-scoring (26) behind Ilya Kovalchuk. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. In the 2002–03 season Heatley emerged as an NHL star, recording 41 goals and 89 points in 77 games. As a result of a car crash in September 2003 that seriously injured Heatley and claimed the life of Thrashers' teammate Dan Snyder, Heatley's season did not start until January 2004 and he ultimately appeared in only 31 games. During the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, Heatley initially played for the Swiss team SC Bern. He scored 24 points in only 16 games before an errant puck struck his left eye and broke his orbital bone. He finished the year with Thrashers' teammate Kovalchuk on the Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague (RSL), recording 4 points in eleven games. Prior to the end of the lock-out, Heatley asked to be traded from Atlanta. On August 23, 2005, the Thrashers sent him to the Ottawa Senators for Slovak star Marián Hossa and veteran defenceman Greg de Vries. Heatley immediately signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract with the Senators. In his first game for the Senators, against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 5, 2005, Heatley played with Jason Spezza and Brandon Bochenski. Heatley made a spectacular start with his new team, registering points in the first 22 games of the 2005–06 season, breaking Marián Hossa's previous franchise record of 13 consecutive games. Heatley finished the 2005–06 season with 50 goals and 103 points, fourth in the league. After a slow start to the 2006–07 season, Heatley recorded 50 goals and 105 points. His performance earned him a spot on the first All-Star team. Heatley and the Senators went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, but finished short in five games against the Anaheim Ducks. Heatley began the 2007–08 season with a new six-year contract extension with the Senators worth $45 million. He completed the 2007–08 season with 41 goals and 41 assists for 82 points in 71 games. On October 3, 2008, Heatley was named alternate captain to Daniel Alfredsson, along with defenceman Chris Phillips. Heatley later played for the San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild and the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, and last played with the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2015–

Did You Know?

• Heatley represented Team Canada in six World Championships, two Olympics, and one World Cup of Hockey, as well as two World Junior Championships.
• In 2008, he surpassed Marcel Dionne as Canada's all-time leader in goals and Steve Yzerman as the all-time leader in points for the World Championships.
• Heatley became the second player to score in an NHL shootout, scoring against Leafs goalie Ed Belfour in 2005.
• He set a franchise record for the Ottawa Senators with 50 goals in 2005–06, the first Senators player to achieve that mark.