Big Phil
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2003
- 31,703
- 4,151
Okay, I don't know about the rest of you, but I remember Heatley in 2003 as the more take control type than afterwards. Lots of it I think had to do with his car crash in 2003 that claimed Dan Snyder's life. Look at him in Atlanta. He wins the Calder in 2002, he comes in and ignores the sophomore jinx the year after, puts up 89 points, scores those 4 goals in the All-Star game and to put it in perspective in the summer of 2003 in a rare chance I joined a hockey pool I picked Heatley #1 overall. The Hockey News had him on the cover basically calling him the future best player in the NHL. Honestly, this was what was happening then.
Then the crash happened and I think it changed everything. He comes back after his own major injury and scored 25 points in 31 games at the end of the year. While he did well winning a Gold in the Worlds in 2004 he looked completely lost in the 2004 World Cup. Then the lockout happened, then the trade to Ottawa. He had back to back 50 goal and 100+ point seasons on that great Pizza line. You figure he's on his way to the HHOF right? Who wouldn't? But then he leaves Ottawa, has a pretty good year in his first with San Jose in 2010 and then fizzled and was finished by 2014.
Here is where I say the difference was. I know his first 2-3 years in Ottawa were great. The Hossa trade looked like a win for Ottawa at the time. But there was a change compared to him as a Thrasher. In Atlanta in 2003 he was a take charge guy. He was like this as a rookie, even as a junior in the WJC. He carried the puck, he rushed with confidence and he had that great laser shot. In Ottawa he basically turned into a player that benefitted more from being in the right spot at the right time and having a good centre (Spezza) feed him the puck. Thornton did this to him in San Jose too. It masked a lot of the problems I think he had. He wasn't explosive anymore and wasn't the type of player who carried the puck in as much. Still good seasons, but wasn't as good as his stats showed.
So my question is, what happens to his career in Atlanta - or wherever overall - without the crash? I honestly think he was well on his way to having a career that would have made him easily the best winger outside of Ovechkin in his era.
Then the crash happened and I think it changed everything. He comes back after his own major injury and scored 25 points in 31 games at the end of the year. While he did well winning a Gold in the Worlds in 2004 he looked completely lost in the 2004 World Cup. Then the lockout happened, then the trade to Ottawa. He had back to back 50 goal and 100+ point seasons on that great Pizza line. You figure he's on his way to the HHOF right? Who wouldn't? But then he leaves Ottawa, has a pretty good year in his first with San Jose in 2010 and then fizzled and was finished by 2014.
Here is where I say the difference was. I know his first 2-3 years in Ottawa were great. The Hossa trade looked like a win for Ottawa at the time. But there was a change compared to him as a Thrasher. In Atlanta in 2003 he was a take charge guy. He was like this as a rookie, even as a junior in the WJC. He carried the puck, he rushed with confidence and he had that great laser shot. In Ottawa he basically turned into a player that benefitted more from being in the right spot at the right time and having a good centre (Spezza) feed him the puck. Thornton did this to him in San Jose too. It masked a lot of the problems I think he had. He wasn't explosive anymore and wasn't the type of player who carried the puck in as much. Still good seasons, but wasn't as good as his stats showed.
So my question is, what happens to his career in Atlanta - or wherever overall - without the crash? I honestly think he was well on his way to having a career that would have made him easily the best winger outside of Ovechkin in his era.