Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Episode 62 - Jamie Heward (with guest Pinholes Graham)
A “Need to Know Guy” that many seem to have forgotten (but not us). Along with NHL documentarian Pinholes Graham, Mike and Dan remember Jamie Heward, a quality defenseman whose super power was simply showing up everywhere.
Drafted by the Penguins and spending years in the minors, Heward got his big break with the expansion Predators before joining the Islanders for just one year. That undermanned and underpaid team needed a lot of help, but Heward provided timely scoring and some defensive awareness where he could. After two seasons in Columbus and a sojourn to Europe, Heward returned to the States to play for the Capitals, who were just beginning their Ovechkin Era. That was where a young Pinholes Graham kept seeing Heward’s name appearing throughout Caps box scores and began wondering, “what’s the deal with this guy?” The answers might surprise you.
Thanks again to Pinholes for coming on. We are huge fans of his YouTube videos on weird or forgotten NHL tidbits and we cannot recommend them enough. Check them all out at youtube.com/@PinholesGraham.
WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL!
After being drafted 16th overall and spending years in the Penguins and Leafs systems, Jamie Heward finally got a regular role with the expansion Nashville Predators. He even scored against the Islanders in their first season.
This story sums up the 1999-2000 Islanders experience. A team, in this case - the Sharks, come into the Coliseum, beat the Islanders in front of a few thousand people and are bored to tears. This was the zenith (or the nadir) of the “Nassau Mausoleum” era that guys like Jamie Heward and his defense partner Jamie Rivers had to deal with.
Jamie Heward scores in overtime to give the Islanders a 2-1 win over the Canadiens in November of 1999:
Canucks enforcer Donald Brashear was suspended for a hit on Heward in a game in October, 1999.
An ankle injury sustained in a February game against the Flyers was the end of Heward’s one and only season as an Islander.
In May of 2000, Heward was picked up on waivers by the still-yet-to-play Columbus Blue Jackets. They must have really wanted him.
After his journey to Europe, Heward returned to the NHL and became a key player for the Capitals. He was even called their “Need-to-Know Guy” by The Hockey News:
Pinholes Graham
As a Capital, Heward was unfortunately involved in the neck injury that ended the career of Islanders farmhand Kevin Colley. Heward was involved but mainly moved out of the way while Colley went into the boards:
This was the last play of Jamie Heward’s NHL career. A hit from Alex Ovechkin caused Heward to be stretchered out of (then) Verizon Center. Although he would be traded to the Leafs later that season, he would never play again.
These days, Heward is an assistant coach with the Henderson Silver Knights, and got to run the bench for the big club in Vegas back in 2021.
To gain an appreciation for Pinholes’ work, start here on the 2002 Islanders-Leafs blood feud:
What makes a “Weird Islander?”
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:
Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.
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