Heatherington is best described as a very mobile and active defense- man. He has very active feet with a smooth stride, good pivots and strong balance. He will get even more balance in his stride once he adds more leg strength. He uses his active mobility to constantly harass opponents in the defensive zone and maintains great defensive positioning and uses his stick extremely well with active play and good positioning. He is very smart with his head always on a swivel and makes decisive quick decisions. He uses his body extremely well to slow down forecheckers and calmly collect pucks with an opponent on his back. Heatherington plays with good physicality in the corners and when clearing the front of the net and puts himself in good position to deliver outlet passes and takes pressure off teammates. Heatherington makes solid breakout passes and gets off hard point shots looking for deflections and rebounds. He does have room to grow and looks as though he has some untapped offensive potential. Overall, he’s a smart and efficient player with a large frame to build mass on. (May 2013)