Walleye add impact player in Mitchell Heard

(Toledo, OH) – Forward Mitchell Heard has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2021-2022 season.Heard joins the Walleye after starting his year in Germany with the Bietigheim Steelers of the DEL. There, the former second round pick in 2012 of the Colorado Avalanche had 11 points (7G, 4A) over 19 contests. Heard had been in the DEL since the start of the 2018-19 season and has posted 63 total points (21G, 42A) in 113 games played.In the ECHL, the native of Newcastle, Ontario has dominated to the tune of over a point-per-game. In four years he has picked up 128 points (53G, 75A) in 119 games played. Heard has also collected 311 penalty minutes while playing as an ECHL career plus-61. His most productive year came in 2017-18 with Florida as he boasted 67 points (25G, 42A) in 63 contests. That season saw him collect ECHL Player of the Month honors in April.The 29-year-old has played for Fort Wayne, Adirondack, and Florida in the ECHL while also skating for Lake Erie, Adirondack, and Charlotte in the AHL. In six AHL campaigns Heard has 199 games played while scoring 14 goals with 25 assists and 502 penalty minutes. He appeared in an AHL-best 63 games in the 2013-14 season for the then Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland.Prior to turning professional, the 6’0”, 200 pound forward spent four years in the OHL with Plymouth totaling nearly a point-per-game with 144 (67G, 77A) in 171 contests. Heard also totaled 216 penalty minutes in his OHL days. That includes his 2011-12 season, which saw Heard collect 29 goals, 28 assists and 111 penalty minutes.