Dallas Stars Call-up 101: Dillon Heatherington

With Marc Methot out for at least two more weeks, the Dallas Stars recalled defenseman Dillon Heatherington from the Texas Stars on Saturday.

Heatherington isn’t going to play against the Colorado Avalanche. But what can we expect from the defenseman if he’s pushed into lineup by injury or if the Stars coach Ken Hitchcock elects to alter the lineup and gives the 22-year-old his NHL debut?

“He’s ready for the NHL at some levels,” a Western Conference scout said. “I wouldn’t play him more than 15 minutes to start, but he’s serviceable enough already. I just don’t know what he’ll do with the speed of the NHL, that’s the big question for me.”

Heatherington, who the Stars acquired in a trade for Lauri Korpikoski at the 2017 NHL trade deadline, has appeared in all 39 AHL games this season for Texas, a majority of them on the top pairing with Brett Regner. He has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) and is plus-two, with 33 penalty minutes.

“Now that we’ve had Dylan for a year and he had a great training camp, the shutdown pair of him and Regner have been the strength of our hockey club,” Texas Stars coach Derek Laxdal said. “They take all the other team’s first lines and they are the shut down guys right from the hop. And he’s been a warrior for us, he’s blocking shots, PK, heavy minutes, getting pucks out.”

Time on ice isn’t an official stat in the AHL, but Heatherington is in the 22 to 24 minute range, and his size stands out when watching him play. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Heatherington isn’t the most fleet skater, but he’s a smart player and understands his limitations with the puck.

When the puck is on his stick it’s quickly out of the zone, it doesn’t create much, but it’s effective like this play against the Stockton Heat on Friday.

Defensively Heatherington does a decent job with his gap control in the AHL. Opposing speed could be an issue in the NHL, but in the AHL he can adequately read a play and defuse it.

As you’d expect with a player classified as a shutdown defender, Heatherington is efficient in one-on-one situations. He has decent reach with his stick, and uses that to his advantage.

Heatherington doesn’t go out of his way to make hits, but can read the situation appropriately like he did on his first shift on Friday in Stockton.

With all of this speed is still the big question. There are moments like this one in the AHL, where Heatherington is in the right position, but a more-skilled quicker player — an NHL player — could potentially create a better scoring chance.

Laxdal said footwork and skating have been a big point of emphasis for Heatherington this season, and it’s been improving.

“He’s working very hard on that element, and those are the things he knows he’ll need to prove to play up there,” Laxdal said.

Offensively Heatherington does have a heavy shot, but he’s not going to create many chances by himself. He’s more of a roving cannon that could be setup by an efficient defensive partner.