James Heward (born March 30, 1971) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

, who currently serves as an associate coach for the

Henderson Silver Knights The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada, that began play in the 2020–21 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team plays its home games at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The te ...

Playing career

Heward was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have play ...

in the first round, 16th overall, of the

1989 NHL Entry Draft The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was the 27th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the p ...

. After several seasons in the Penguins organization without getting called up to the NHL, Heward became an unrestricted free agent and spent the 1994–95 season with the Canadian National Team scoring 5 assists in 8 games at the 1995 World Championships. After the World Championships ended, Heward signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 4, 1995. Heward spent most of the 1995–96 season with Toronto's AHL affiliate the St. John's Maple Leafs before spending 5 games with the parent club in February 1996. Heward made his NHL debut against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

on February 3, 1996, recording 4 shots. Heward again spent the majority of the 1996–97 season in the AHL, however during 20 games with the Maple Leafs, Heward scored his first career NHL goal (and point) on November 2, 1996, against Mike Vernon and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. On July 31, 1997, Heward signed a free agent contract with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

but spent the entire season with their AHL affiliate the

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule ...

. In 1998–99, Heward finally found a regular NHL job scoring 18 points in 63 games with the expansion

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. After the Predators declined to make Heward a qualifying offer, he signed a two-way free agent deal with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in July 1999. He spent the 1999–2000 season with the team, then was claimed on waivers by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

on May 26, 2000. Heward played 97 games with Columbus during the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons, scoring 30 points, but was not re-signed. After 3 seasons in Switzerland, Heward signed a 1-year free-agent contract with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

at the end of the

2004-05 NHL lockout A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on t ...

, and recorded a career-high 28 points for Washington. The 1-year contract was extended on February 22, 2006, for the 2006–07 season. On February 27, 2007, the Capitals traded Heward to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional fifth round pick in the 2007 NHL draft. After the season ended, Heward signed a deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian League on August 13, 2007. On September 16, 2008, the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

invited Heward to training camp and signed him to a 1-year deal on October 3, 2008. On March 4, 2009, in an attempt to dump salary, the Lightning traded goaltender

Olaf Kolzig Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

, Heward, prospect Andy Rogers and a fourth round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospect Richard Petiot. At the date of his trade to the Maple Leafs, he had been sidelined indefinitely with a concussion. In 2010, Heward was inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

On August 23, 2012, Heward was named the Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development for the

Swift Current Broncos The Swift Current Broncos are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. Founded during 1967 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the Broncos played seven seasons before relocating to Lethbridge from 1974 to 1986 as the Lethbridge Bro ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

(WHL). After six years with the Broncos, Heward was named the associate coach for the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in ...

of the WHL on July 23, 2018. Internationally, Heward has served as an Assistant Coach for Team Canada for the

World U-17 Hockey Challenge The World U-17 Hockey Challenge, originally known as the Quebec Esso Cup, is an international ice hockey tournament held annually in Canada. Prior to 2011, the tournament did not operate during years in which the Canada Winter Games were held. ...

tournaments in 2015 and 2016.

Personal life

Heward and his family currently reside in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

* WHL East First All-Star Team – 1991

References

External links

Shooting Stars Foundation
official charity website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heward, Jamie 1971 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Columbus Blue Jackets players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Los Angeles Kings players Nashville Predators players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders players Philadelphia Phantoms players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Regina Pats players SKA Saint Petersburg players Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan St. John's Maple Leafs players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning players Toronto Maple Leafs players Washington Capitals players