Eric Heffler
| Eric Heffler | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 29, 1976 Geneva, New York, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Right | ||
| Played for |
Hamilton Bulldogs Greensboro Generals New Haven Knights B.C. Icemen | ||
| Playing career | 1995–2002 | ||
Eric Heffler is an American former ice hockey goaltender who was an All-American for St. Lawrence.[1]
Career
After playing junior hockey in
Though undrafted, Heffler embarked on a professional career after graduating and quickly found himself in the NHL. The next year, when Edmonton's primary netminder, Bill Ranford, contracted an ear infection, Heffler was called up to serve as a backup behind Tommy Salo. He sat on the bench for two games in late-November before Ranford returned to action. Heffler would later joke about the situation:
“I was hoping to get home for Thanksgiving, but this is a good reason not too.”[4]
In the AHL, Heffler was the co-starter for the Hamilton Bulldogs and had a mediocre season. While his numbers weren't any worse than any other of the team's goaltenders, he was relegated to being the team's third goaltender during their playoff run. In his second full season of pro hockey, Heffler's performance declined, but he still earned a second call-up to the Oilers, this time for one game. Afterwards he slid down the depth chart and was eventually demoted to the ECHL. In the second half of the season he didn't appear to be improving, so Heffler ended up playing single-A hockey the year after. He split time between two teams and retired after the year.
Heffler was inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.[5]
Statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1994–95 | Oshawa Legionaires
|
MetJHL | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | St. Lawrence | ECAC Hockey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 3 | 0 | 3.27 | .864 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | St. Lawrence | ECAC Hockey | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 458 | 31 | 0 | 4.06 | .886 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | St. Lawrence | ECAC Hockey | 26 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1529 | 73 | 2 | 2.90 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | St. Lawrence | ECAC Hockey | 37 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 1185 | 88 | 0 | 2.39 | .931 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 119 | 5 | 0 | 2.52 | .939 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 47 | 11 | 25 | 7 | 2643 | 138 | 5 | 3.13 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 19 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1037 | 68 | 0 | 3.93 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Greensboro Generals | ECHL | 15 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 821 | 55 | 0 | 4.02 | .894 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | New Haven Knights | UHL | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 601 | 32 | 1 | 3.20 | .896 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | B.C. Icemen | UHL | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 421 | 19 | 0 | 2.71 | .929 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 79 | 32 | 29 | 4 | 4,248 | 195 | 2 | 2.75 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| UHL totals | 19 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1,022 | 51 | 1 | 2.99 | .911 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 68 | 17 | 37 | 7 | 3,799 | 211 | 5 | 3.33 | .906 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-ECAC Hockey First Team | 1998–99 | [6] |
| AHCA East First-Team All-American | 1998–99 | [1] |
All-Tournament Team
|
1999
|
[7] |
References
- ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^ "Men's Division I Hockey Overall Statistics: 1998-1999". USCHO.com. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "Saint Hockey Record Book 2015-16" (PDF). St. Lawrence Saints. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^ "Eric Heffler". NHL Backups. November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "Eric Heffler '99 - 2019 Hall of Fame Induction Video". YouTube. October 7, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "Men's All-Tournament Teams" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database