Eric Heffler

Last updated
Eric Heffler
Born (1976-02-29) February 29, 1976 (age 46)
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]

Contents

Career

After playing junior hockey in Canada, Heffler returned to New York to play college hockey at St. Lawrence. He started his career as the team's third goaltender and then progressively earned more playing time in net. He became the primary netminder as a junior and then backstopped the team to a massive improvement as a senior. St. Lawrence won more than twice as many games in Heffler's final season and he was one of the top goaltenders in the nation in both goals against average and save percentage. [2] St. Lawrence finished second in the ECAC Hockey standings and was ranked #10 in the country while Hellfer was named an All-American and the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year. He helped the team earn an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in seven years but, unfortunately, couldn't help them win the match. [3]

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 TeamLeagueGPWLTMINGA SO GAA SV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1994–95 Oshawa Legionaires MetJHL 29————————————————
1995–96 St. Lawrence ECAC Hockey 400055303.27.864————————
1996–97 St. Lawrence ECAC Hockey 122314583104.06.886————————
1997–98 St. Lawrence ECAC Hockey 26814015297322.90.917————————
1998–99 St. Lawrence ECAC Hockey 372212311858802.39.931————————
1998–99 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 2110119502.52.939————————
1999–00 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 4711257264313853.13.910————————
2000–01 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 19511010376803.93.891————————
2000–01 Greensboro Generals ECHL 1541008215504.02.894————————
2001–02 New Haven Knights UHL 104516013213.20.896————————
2001–02 B.C. Icemen UHL 94314211902.71.929————————
NCAA totals79322944,24819522.75.920————————
UHL totals198821,0225112.99.911————————
AHL totals68173773,79921153.33.906————————

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1998–99 [6]
AHCA East First-Team All-American 1998–99 [1]
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 1999 [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Men's Division I Hockey Overall Statistics: 1998-1999". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  3. ↑ "Saint Hockey Record Book 2015-16" (PDF). St. Lawrence Saints. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Eric Heffler". NHL Backups. November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Eric Heffler '99 - 2019 Hall of Fame Induction Video". YouTube. October 7, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  6. ↑ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Men's All-Tournament Teams" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Ken Dryden Award
1998–99 		Succeeded by
Preceded by ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
1998–99 		Succeeded by
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