4th year center Mitchell Heard(22) signs his 2nd minor league contract, keeping him in the Western Conference but heading east for 2016/2017 with Charlotte Checkers.
He’s coming off a season where he played only 22 games under a deal with Stockton Heat but scored a decent 3 goals and 4 assists.
The 6’1″ 205 lbs. forward fared much better on reassignment to Adirondack Thunder, where he was basically a point-per-game player pocketing 12 goals and 20 assists with a +17 rating in 33 ECHL games during the regular season, then tacked on another 5 tallies and 6 helpers in 12 Kelly Cup Playoff contests.
These totals mirror what he was able to accomplish in his final pair of campaigns for Plymouth Whalers of the OHL.
Originally a Colorado Avalanche 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft (#41 overall), he almost turned pro after being selected, but half was through the year the parent club decided to return him for his final season of juniors after playing 23 AHL games but seemingly sputtering out of the gate.
Twice reassigned quickly from training camp to affiliate Cleveland Monsters he spent two full seasons in the league but was mostly challenged to connect with the score sheet on a consistent basis.
There’s little doubt the 24-year old is awaiting another breakout, this time in the higher league.
If that doesn’t occur in the upcoming season, he may look overseas next and should do well over there.