FEATURE: Jimmy Heintzelman Set for 1,500th Career Game 

Whether a player needed a new role of tape or requested a certain pair of skates to wear on gameday, Blackhawks Assistant Equipment Manager Jimmy Heintzelman has been keeping track of players’ equipment needs now for 1,500 games between the AHL and NHL.

Aproaching the milestone, Heintzelman, who is in his 14th season with Chicago, thought about his journey and the people who helped him reach the NHL throughout his 21-year professional career. He helped out with former Blackhawk Marian Hossa’s honorary retirement game in Slovakia back in August and, while there, reconnected with many former players he worked with throughout the years, he reflected on the moments that he never thought would happen.

“It feels weird,” Heintzelman said. “I don’t feel like I’ve been doing this for 21 years, but I have.”

Heintzelman and the Blackhawks' equipment staff handle all requests that the players might have whether it’s the type of stick they play with or a clothing item that needs to be repaired. While some can be particular about the items they need, they learn how to work with their specific preferences whether big or small.

One way Heintzelman keeps track of the various equipment needs across the roster includes a journal, where he's taken notes every day for four seasons and recorded items that are requested. While he still doesn’t understand how he did it, Heintzelman stayed on track with it all.

“Some are pretty picky about certain things, it’s just being able to remember that one player does not like that kind of tape, so do not have that kind of tape,” Heintzelman said. “Just little stuff like that.”

Before he became a member of Chicago’s staff, Heintzelman started his career as a member of the game night equipment staff with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League. His friend and current Griffin’s Equipment Manager Brad Thompson knew the team needed help for the upcoming season and asked Heintzelman if he would be interested in the job, and he took it.

Although he didn’t play until he went to high school, the Grand Rapids native thought the opportunity would be something different and give him an idea of how a gameday worked.

“I thought that'd be cool to see behind the scenes,” Heintzelman said. “They must have liked what I was doing because they asked me to finish out the year and I did that for at least 10 years, just working nights helping them during games.”

When he didn’t work on game nights, Heintzelman worked full-time at a factory job for General Motors; however, lost his job after the company moved south due to a buyout. After that, the Griffins asked if he wanted to join the group in a full-time role as the assistant equipment manager, a role he stayed in from 2003-07.

After his four-year stint in Grand Rapids, he made the move to Rockford to work with the equipment staff of IceHogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, for two seasons. In the summer of 2009, he received a call from Blackhawks Head Equipment Manager Troy Parchman on a potential offer to join the NHL team.

“Troy called me over that summer and said, ‘We're thinking of making a change,’” Heintzelman said. “I immediately agreed didn't even talk contract or anything and just said yeah. A couple of weeks later, he called me and said, ‘Okay, you're coming up.’”

From there, he joined the Blackhawks for the 2009 NHL Premiere Series against the Florida Panthers in Finland, where he learned how NHL travel worked and learned from all his rookie mistakes of not overpacking for a road trip.

In the years since, Heintzelman has been in Chicago for now 14 seasons and became a member of three Stanley Cup Championships. As a fan of the game, he always hoped to be a part of a winning team but never knew if it would happen.

“I dreamed about it but never thought it would actually happen,” Heintzelman said. “I have three rings and my name is on the Cup, which is insane to think about. All the history that's on the thing and my name is on there.”

With 21 seasons overall down, he knows that the schedule will continue to get harder but still hopes to be on another Stanley Cup-winning team someday. For now, he cherishes the moments throughout the years and grows appreciative of those who helped him reach this moment.

“I just have to thank everyone along the way who helped me get to the point that I'm at,” Heintzelman said. “You can’t do it by yourself, and it takes a lot of people to help.”