Mitchell Heard

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Mitchell Heard
Heard with the Straubing Tigers in 2018
Born (1992-03-12) March 12, 1992 (age 32)
Bowmanville, Ontario
, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb)
Position
Center
Shoots Left
Slovak team
Former teams
NHL draft 41st overall, 2012
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2012–present

Mitchell Heard (born March 12, 1992) is a

center who is currently playing HK Dukla Michalovce of the Slovak Extraliga
.

Heard was drafted 41st overall in the

.

Playing career

Heard first played at the Junior A level for the

2009–10
season.

In his rookie campaign with the Whalers, Heard immediately established himself within the offensive lines in finishing fourth on the club with 48 points in 66 games. He increased his scoring to a point-per-game rate the following season to be selected with the Colorado Avalanche's first selection in the

2012 NHL Entry Draft
, 41st overall.

With a physically mature frame, Heard was later signed in the off-season on August 14, 2012, to a three-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche.

Lake Erie Monsters. Heard made his professional debut with the Monsters and used sparingly as a depth forward before he was later reassigned to his junior club, the Plymouth Whalers, mid-season on January 1, 2013.[2]
In his return to the Whalers, Heard was leaned on offensively to finish with 36 points in 32 regular season games but was unable to advance the Whalers to the Conference finals.

In his first full professional season in

2013–14
, Heard was in the familiar position of starting the year with the Monsters. Used primarily an checking-line agitator with the ability to fight, Heard finished fourth amongst the AHL in penalty minutes with 167 in 63 games.

Struggling to find his offensive game in the AHL, and in the last year of his entry-level deal with the Avalanche, Heard was reassigned to the

2014–15 season. He responded immediately to contribute with 10 goals and 16 points in just 12 games to earn the ECHL player of the week award in November.[3] He was returned to the Monsters for the remainder of the regular season to post consecutive 100 plus penalty minute seasons.[4] With the Monsters out of playoff contention, Heard was reassigned to the Komets Kelly Cup run. He contributed with 9 points in 10 games before falling to the Toledo Walleye in the Conference semi-finals.[5]

In the offseason, Heard was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Avalanche to be released to free agency. On July 15, 2015, Heard was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the

2015–16 season, with ECHL affiliate, the Adirondack Thunder
. Over the course of the year, Heard split his time between the Thunder and Heat, appearing in 22 games for 7 points in the AHL.

As a free agent in the off-season, Heard continued his career in the AHL, securing a one-year deal with the

2017–18
season.

Heard opted for a move abroad following his fifth professional season, securing a one-year contract with German club, the Straubing Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), on July 12, 2018.[8]

Heard played and produced offensively with the Straubing Tigers through three seasons, before opting to terminate his contract mid-way through the

2020–21 season, and return to Canada for personal reasons on March 23, 2021.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season
Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Bowmanville Eagles
CCHL
22 17 13 30 24 22 6 13 19 34
2009–10 Plymouth Whalers CCHL 16 2 1 3 4
2010–11 Plymouth Whalers OHL 66 19 29 48 67 11 1 2 3 10
2011–12 Plymouth Whalers OHL 57 29 28 57 111 13 4 7 11 26
2012–13
Lake Erie Monsters
AHL 23 1 3 4 72
2012–13 Plymouth Whalers OHL 32 17 19 36 34 14 8 5 13 37
2013–14 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 63 4 8 12 167
2014–15 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 51 6 6 12 137
2014–15 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 12 10 6 16 15 10 3 6 9 22
2015–16 Adirondack Thunder ECHL 33 12 20 32 114 12 5 6 11 39
2015–16 Stockton Heat AHL 22 3 4 7 71
2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 36 0 4 4 53
2016–17 Florida Everblades ECHL 11 6 7 13 29 8 1 0 1 49
2017–18 Florida Everblades ECHL 63 25 42 67 153 20 9 13 22 39
2017–18 Charlotte Checkers AHL 4 0 0 0 2
2018–19 Straubing Tigers DEL 28 5 11 16 67
2019–20 Straubing Tigers DEL 49 6 24 30 56
2020–21 Straubing Tigers DEL 17 3 3 6 31
2021–22 SC Bietigheim Steelers DEL 19 7 4 11 19
2021–22 Toledo Walleye ECHL 49 23 26 49 70 21 2 10 12 25
2022–23 Toledo Walleye ECHL 46 16 27 43 145
2022–23 Belleville Senators AHL 13 1 2 3 39
AHL totals 212 15 27 42 541

References

  1. ^ "Avalanche signs Heard". Colorado Avalanche. 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  2. ^ "Lake Erie Monsters transactions 2012-13". American Hockey League. 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  3. ^ "Heard named sherwood ECHL player of the Week". ECHL. 2014-11-11. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  4. News-Sentinel
    . Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  5. News-Sentinel
    . 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  6. ^ "Heat signs three to AHL deals". Stockton Heat. 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  7. ^ "Checkers sign Mitchell Heard to AHL contract". Charlotte Checkers. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  8. ^ "New Center for Straubing - Mitch Heard" (in German). Straubing Tigers. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  9. ^ "Thankyou Heardy!" (in German). Straubing Tigers. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.

External links