Heidt has a plus-11 rating, up from a minus-3 last season, and he's a key piece of a Prince George penalty kill that is the best in the WHL at 86.3 percent.
"He can skate and he can play fast, but he can also play fast with the puck and can make plays at top speed with the puck," Wild director of player development Brad Bombardir said. "And he sees the game very well in the offensive zone, so that's how he's been able to create a lot of his success as far as the points go and the numbers go that everybody sees.
"But what we've really liked about him, we're more proud of the willingness that he's showing to work on his game without the puck and away from the puck. It's still a work in progress for him for that, but it's improving. He's taking a lot of pride in his stick detail, taking a lot of pride in the penalty kill, his intensity and focus, and he's taking a lot of pride also in being a plus player at that level too.
"It's important to be a plus player, especially for guys that lead their teams in points and is their offensive driver. So that's where we're most proud of him is the work that he's doing that people don't see every day."
Another area of improvement for Heidt has been in the face-off circle. He has won 57.1 percent this season, up from 51.5 percent last season.
Heidt credits that improvement to work with Wild assistant director of player development Matt Hendricks, who won 52.9 percent of his face-offs during 11 NHL seasons.
"I really got a lot of good little things that he gave me to work on," Heidt said of Hendricks. "I think the biggest thing was just trying to get over the dot as much as I can. I was really just working on trying to keep my stick a bit more firm on the ice. There's a lot of bigger centermen, especially when you get to the next level, so it's even harder. That's something he really talked about and that helped me out a lot.
"I take a lot of draws in a game, so that's an important piece and with the PK, you can kill 30 seconds off the clock if you win the draw. So just trying to try to really make that a big thing."
Ater Heidt tied for fourth in the WHL last season with 97 points (25 goals, 72 assists) in 68 games, another big offensive season was expected. But for the Wild, seeing the improvements the 18-year-old has made in the other elements of his game, including adding size and strength (5-foot-10, 178 pounds), has them feeling like they found a bit of an overlooked gem with the final pick of the second round (No. 64) in the 2023 NHL Draft.
"He's had a great start to the season and he's created a lot of that and a lot of confidence in himself," Bombardir said. "He just continues to play well, and we're really, really happy for him."
OTHERS TO WATCH
Kasper Halttunen, RW, London: The San Jose Sharks prospect scored the game's first goal in London's 7-3 win against Saginaw on Dec. 8 to extend his point streak to 14 games (11 goals, eight assists), the longest active streak in the OHL, in his final game before leaving for Finland's selection camp for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. The 18-year-old, selected by the Sharks in the second round (No. 36) of the 2023 draft, has 31 points (20 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games in his first season in North America.
Vsevolod Komarov, D, Drummondville: The Buffalo Sabres prospect began December with back-to-back three point games, and has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a five-game point streak. That includes seven points (two goals, five assists) in four games since he was traded to Drummondville by Quebec on Dec. 3. The 19-year-old, selected by the Sabres in the fifth round (No. 134) of the 2022 NHL Draft, has 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 26 games this season.
Matt Savoie, C, Wenatchee: Since making his WHL season debut Nov. 15, Savoie has dominated the WHL with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 11 games. The 19-year-old Sabres prospect, selected with the No. 9 pick of the 2022 draft, has eight multipoint games, leads the WHL with an average of 2.18 points per game and built a nine-game point streak (22 points; 10 goals, 12 assists) prior to leaving the team to play for Canada at the 2024 WJC.
