As teammates with the Prince George Cougars, Riley Heidt and Koehn Zimmer have cemented their bond even tighter the past two Western Hockey League seasons as linemates.
Now the two 18-year-old forwards are draftmates, both picked Thursday in the NHL draft in Nashville.
The Minnesota Wild made Heidt their choice at the end of the second round to select him 64th overall. Then in the third round, 78th overall, Ziemmer’s NHL rights were locked up by the Los Angeles Kings.
Both Cougars had been pegged as potential first-rounders and they had to wait a little longer than anticipated to walk up to the stage in Nashville.
“You never really know, I guess, but I was for sure on the edge of my seat for a long time there and to eventually hear my name called it’s obviously an honour,” said Heidt, at a media availability. “With all my family, I’ve got so much support here, all the people who have helped me along the way so far. We have a great staff up there (in Prince George) and a ton of support and they’ve helped us a lot.”
Heidt’s 72 assists in 2022-23 left him tied for the WHL lead with Connor Bedard and the Saskatoon native also scored 25 goals for 97-points, the third-best single-season performance in Cougar history. Heidt’s superior skating skills and playmaking ability as a centre made earned him a spot on Canada’s U-18 national team that won world championship bronze and he was one of the most coveted forwards in the draft. The Wild will get to see him in action next at their development camp in Minnesota July 12-14.
“This is obviously when the hard works starts and I’m going to do everything to prove I can be there,” said Heidt.
Known for his power forward tendencies playing right wing, Ziemmer collected 41 goals and 47 assists for an 89-point season that left him third in team scoring.
The native of Mayerthorpe, Alta., is looking forward to a California future once he’s ready to make the jump to pro hockey in the Kings’ organization.
“I’ve talked to them a lot throughout the year and it’s one of the top places I wanted to go,” said Ziemmer. “I’m really excited and ready to get going.
“There’s a lot of history. I’m not used to warm weather, so hopefully I’ll get used to that."
