Heatley, Thrashers Trying to Recuperate

The missing teeth and unkempt curly locks were a throwback to a bygone era. His extraordinary skills with the puck and strength to plow through the opposition exemplified the tantalizing duality of the modern hockey player. Still just 22 years old, Dany Heatley was about to become the next signature face of the NHL and lead the Atlanta Thrashers out of the expansion doldrums.

Heatley had already won the rookie of the year award, earning millions of dollars and immediate respect around the league. He outshined all of the game's greats by scoring five goals and taking home the most valuable player award at the 2003 All-Star Game, and, as this regular season approached, Heatley was on top of the world.

Then everything changed in one microsecond for Heatley, for his good friend and teammate Dan Snyder, and for the entire Thrashers organization. Heatley was driving his Ferrari home from a team function on the night of Sept. 29, allegedly traveling on the wrong side of the road at speeds in excess of 80 mph in a residential zone, when the car hit a wall and split in half, catapulting Heatley and Snyder, 25, into the road.

Six days later Snyder died from severe brain injuries suffered in the crash, and Heatley is struggling to recover from injuries to his knee, shoulder and jaw and faces five criminal charges including one felony count of vehicular homicide that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years (alcohol was not a factor in the accident). Heatley and the Thrashers said a final goodbye to Snyder on Friday, flying to his funeral in Elmira, Ontario, then all of them but Heatley boarded a charter to Washington, where last night they played their first road game since the tragedy and beat the Capitals, 4-3, at MCI Center.

"We've got to move on, but we're going to move on with Dan Snyder in our hearts and thoughts," Atlanta General Manager Don Waddell said, tears welling in his eyes. "We have to continue moving on -- we owe it to the players, the coaches and the fans. Absolutely, we've got to take it and use it as motivation. We know Dan would want us to play, and we know he's going to be watching us, and he's still a part of this team. We're really going to miss him, but we have to continue on."

Youth hockey players lined the streets of Elmira before Snyder's funeral, tapping their sticks on the ground in hockey's traditional salute. Heatley stood on crutches during the ceremonies following knee surgery, but received a more profound support from his teammates and Snyder's family, who have become an immense source of strength for this franchise.

"We want you to know that we do not lay blame on Dany Heatley for the accident that took our son from us," Graham Snyder, Dan's father, said in a statement following the funeral service. "There is nothing to gain from harboring resentment or anger towards others."

"The Snyder family, they gave us the most energy so far," Thrashers Coach Bob Hartley said. "Those guys, I don't know what they are made of, but it's just unbelievable the way they held their own ground, and on top of that have given us unbelievable energy."

The Snyders have been so caring to Heatley at least in part because of the bond between him and their son. The players could not have been more different, yet became fast friends and training camp roommates.

Heatley's father, Murray, played professional hockey and the lineage showed in Dany's mature style of play and his strapping, 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame. He starred in junior hockey and in college, was the second overall pick in the 2000 draft and never spent a minute in the minors.

"Everything happened so fast for him," said Capitals winger Matt Pettinger, who is friends with Heatley and played with him in the 2000 World Junior Championship tournament. "Any league he ever played in, he always tore it up. It shows you how fast things can change. One day he's about to become the next superstar of the NHL, and the next day you have nothing. This has got to be so tough for him."

Snyder was hardly born to play this game, barely reaching 6 feet, using his will and work ethic to overcome genetics. When he was 17, Snyder's junior coach told him he might want to consider going to college, because hockey was not in his future. Four years later Snyder was the team's leading scorer, and, although he was never selected in the NHL draft, Atlanta gave him a free agent contract in 1999.

After spending parts of four seasons in the minors, Snyder was penciled in as the Thrashers' fourth-line center and expected to spend the entire season in the NHL.

"He had such determination and heart," said Waddell. "He wasn't going to be denied. He knew that if he took one shift off he would be right back to the minors. He had to pay a big price and turn a lot of heads to get here."

Those same qualities endeared Snyder to his teammates. If he could work that hard just to get to the NHL, then surely they could strive to maximize their talent as well. His enthusiasm to play hockey was infectious.

"He came from nowhere to make the team, that kind of tells you what kind of person he was," Atlanta winger Slava Kozlov said. "He was very friendly, such a good friend to all of us. It was so tough for the whole team at the funeral. It was a very emotional day; I'm going to remember that day for a long time, for the rest of my life."

For Kozlov, such grief is nothing new. He nearly died in a car crash as a teenager in Russia, and, after winning the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1997, watched three of his friends fight for their lives when their limousine crashed into a tree following a team celebration. Defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov suffered massive brain trauma and has not been able to function on his own since, and team masseuse Sergei Mnatsakanov was paralyzed from the waist down. Defenseman Slava Fetisov was able to play again the following season.

"We played for Vladie and Sergei in Detroit, and now we'll play for Danny here," Kozlov said. "We will always remember Danny Snyder, but we have to do our jobs, too. I think that's what he would want."

Atlanta's prospects of reaching the playoffs for the first time in its five-year history seem much more distant now, and replacing Heatley's offensive production will be impossible. However, Waddell is confident that Heatley's body will recover in time for him to play again this season, and believes his legal problems will not be a hindrance, either ("He will be fine, legally, in time," Waddell maintains).

But no one can be certain about the mental toll of the accident. Surely, Heatley will carry an emotional burden for years to come, with each day at the rink triggering memories of his departed friend and thoughts of what might have been.

"He's a good kid, and right now he is devastated," Waddell said. "He was involved in an accident and he made a mistake, but there was no intent or anything like that. He's going to pay for it probably for the rest of his life, but in time he is going to have to figure out how to deal with it himself and how to move forward."