Wild Prospect Riley Heidt Building Toward A Complete Game: ‘I Know What I’m Capable Of’

ST. PAUL — It’s safe to say the Minnesota Wild have sold Riley Heidt of their organization since drafting him with the last pick of the second round at No. 64 in the 2023 NHL Draft inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

“You’re at the practice facility — and I feel like I’m in Heaven around here,” Heidt told The Hockey News in a one-on-one interview inside Tria Rink after the second day of development camp. “It’s pretty crazy.”

It’s not just the Wild’s training facility that has him excited, though. Heidt spoke high praise about the development team and staff, too.

“Exceptional people.”

“Super welcoming.”

“Like a family.”

And there’s plenty of reasons the Wild should be sold on Heidt, who they drafted using the second round pick acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in the Jordan Greenway trade.

For starters, Heidt made significant strides last year during his sophomore season with the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars. The 5-foot-11, 179-pound center scored 25 goals and 97 points (1.43 point-per-game rate) during his age-17 season — a point total that tied Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven for fourth in WHL scoring.

The most important figure from last season though is 72, the number of assists he racked up — which tied the Chicago Blackhawks’ first overall pick Connor Bedard for the WHL crown for assists. As for power play helpers, Heidt led the league with 39.

“I didn’t really have any idea that I would be in that mix up until the end of the year,” Heidt said of tying Bedard, adding that he didn’t pay much attention to it but had been informed by a few people toward the end of the season.

For those who have watched Heidt, it’s not all that surprising that he has made a name for himself as a playmaker. “A silky-smooth passer who uses deception as a playmaker to enhance his offensive game,” draft analyst Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News wrote. In fact, Heidt says his hockey intelligence and playmaking ability are his greatest strengths in addition to being effective in both a high or low pace game environment.

Heidt’s 97 points ranked second on the Cougars in the regular season, where he went 51.5% in the faceoff circle. During the WHL Playoffs, the 18-year-old recorded eight points in nine games (tied for first on Prince George) and possessed a 60.3% success rate in the dot. Heidt said he set high expectations for himself last year, and it’s safe to say he exceeded them after what he accomplished.

Heidt notched 58 points during his age-16 rookie season in the WHL in 2021-22, which wasn’t too shabby as it landed him tied for 50th in league scoring. You read that right, he saw a 39-point increase from year one to year two.

Heidt attributes that scoring increase to playing a more well-rounded game after being told he needed to work on his defensive game.

“My defensive game has been the biggest thing I’ve obviously been working on a lot over the last couple years especially, and I think it improved a lot this year,” Heidt said. “It turned out that I had more offense by playing better defensively.”

It’s something he’s aware of, and he believes he will continue “molding into that complete player” if he remains focused on it.

Another facet of his game he wants to showcase more of is his release because Heidt ranked 71st in the WHL last season with 170 shots in 68 games, a 2.5 shots-per-game rate.

“I think my shot’s pretty underrated, too,” Heidt said. “I don’t use it quite enough.”

The Wild saw these areas of his game up close at development camp after they saw him fall in their lap at the end of the second round of the draft. The Saskatoon, Canada native had plenty of support with him at the draft, including his immediate family, build parents and over 30 others who have helped him along the way.

Many may consider Heidt a draft steal at pick No. 64 with a good portion of the pre-draft rankings having him land near the middle of the first round. Dobber prospects had him ranked at No. 14, while both The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and Elite Prospects had him at No. 18.

“I was sitting on that seat a little longer than I expected,” Heidt said, adding that he talked to nearly every team prior to the draft. And he’s focused on the variables he can control. … “At the end of the day, it’s just a number.”

The Wild appeared to be shocked he still remained on the board. Wild Director of Amateur Scouting Judd Brackett “was doing backflips,” Wild GM Bill Guerin told the media.

Regardless of where he fell, Heidt is confident in what he brings to the table, and he said he’s glad to be in an organization that believes in him.

“I know the type of player I am. I know what I’m capable of,” Heidt said. “At the end of the day, it’s happened now … This is the team that I belong to.”

When it comes to who he models his game after, Heidt said Sidney Crosby is a player he has always looked up to and tried to model his game after. But recently, he has been paying attention to Nikita Kucherov. Heidt said he believes he can be effective as both a center or wing even though he’s been playing center.

“I’m open to everything right now,” he says.

His goal over this next year is to keep building toward a complete game, which will in turn help his overall game like it did last season in helping him become even more dominant offensively. And at the moment, his game couldn't be trending in the right direction any better with the odds in his favor.

“I’m super excited to kind of try to build my game up,” Heidt said, “and get better at all the things I need to.”

All Data Via Elite Prospects and WHL