Mars' Heakins signs tender with NAHL
ADAMS TWP — Austin Heakins comes from a baseball family.
His neighbors changed all of that.
“When I was 7, I saw some neighbors playing (street) hockey in their driveway and I went over to check it out,” Heakins recalled. “I've been all about hockey ever since.”
He's been progressing in the sport, as well.
Two weeks after being exposed to hockey, Heakins joined the developmental skating program and began playing for the North Pittsburgh Wildcats.
Now a junior at Mars High School, Heakins recently signed a tender with Port Huron (Mich.) of the North American Hockey League for the 2012-13 season.
That means Port Huron holds his NAHL rights and Heakins cannot be recruited by any other club in the league. It does not guarantee him a spot on the Fighting Falcons' roster.
“But it's a positive step,” Heakins said. “My goal is to play Division I college hockey and if I can earn my way on to their roster, I'll be playing in front of plenty of scouts.”
The NAHL is a 28-team junior hockey league with franchises from coast to coast. Port Huron is currently leading the North Division with a 28-11-3 record.
The league had 73 players earn Division I college scholarships last season.
Team tryouts take place in August. The 58-game NAHL regular season runs from September through April 1.
Heakins is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior forward who has tallied 12 goals and 20 assists for the Mars High School team through nine games this season. He also has 11 goals and 32 assists through 51 games with the AAA 18-under Pittsburgh Viper Stars this year.
“Austin is very capable of playing in the NAHL,” Viper Stars coach David Kosick said. “It's a well-respected junior league in this country and it's professionally run.
“Some of these franchises serve as prime entertainment in their cities. Teams can average 5,000 to 6,000 fans per game.”
The Viper Stars have had six players sign NAHL tenders this year. Heakins scored approximately 35 goals and 89 points in 79 games for the Viper Stars' 16-under team last year.He also scored 15 points in five playoff games.“Austin was eligible to return to the 16-under team this season, but opted to bump up and has more than held his own,” Kosick said. “Barring injury, I see him playing major college hockey in two or three years.”While Heakins would live in Port Huron during the NAHL season, he would still attend and graduate from Mars High School through online classes.He said he would return home to attend school dances and other notable functions. When the NAHL season ends, he would return to Mars and finish out his final two months of school there.“I'll still be able to graduate with my classmates and that's very important to me,” Heakins said. “I just want to make the most of my hockey opportunities at the same time.”Mars High assistant coach Mike Manganello said Heakins “has a phenomenal work ethic and is a great two-way player.”Heakins began his high school career as a defenseman.“Now he's a 6-3 forward who skates like he's 5-7 or 5-10,” Manganello said. “He's an extremely fast skater for his size.“Most hockey players with his frame are either rugged defensemen or forwards who post up in front of the net. This kid flies up and down his wing with regularity.”Heakins credits his skating skills to working with power skating coach Marianne Watkins at the Robert Morris Sports Complex on Neville Island.“She's been my biggest help in that area,” he said.The NAHL is a Tier II junior league. The best amateur hockey circuit in the country is the United States Hockey League, a Tier I league.“The players are faster and quicker in the USHL,” Heakins said. “The NAHL is more of a grinder league, but it's still very good.“I'd like to play there for a year, then maybe get into the USHL. Every young player wants to reach the NHL, but I know the odds on that aren't so good.”Many former Viper Stars have gone on to play hockey for years.“That's anywhere from pro leagues to beer leagues,” Kosick cautioned. “With the junior leagues in the United States and Canada, the influx of young European players ... pro hockey opportunities aren't that great.“It takes a rare athlete to make that jump. But Austin's certainly headed in the right direction.”
