The Tampa Bay Lightning are slowly building a cadre of decent goaltending options. Will they strike gold in the seventh round of the draft for the second year in a row?
| Name | Caleb Heil |
| Position | Goaltender |
| Age (as of October 1) | 19 |
| Height/Weight | 6’2″, 196 lb |
| Expected 2024-25 Team | Madison Capitals (USHL) |
| Draft – Year, Round | 2025 Round 7, 193rd overall |
| Previous Rankings | NR |
| Justin G.’s Rank | 21 |
| Final Rank | 23 |
Stats:
Our Thoughts:
Our first thought whenever writing about goaltending prospects is, in the words of many before us, “Goaltending is voodoo.” Honestly, we rarely know how an 18-year-old shotstopper is going to mature by the time they reach the professional levels. Perhaps the Lightning’s recent run of drafting over-age goalies is a smart one because they get at least one more season of seeing what a kid can do after strapping on the equipment.
Much like two summers ago when the Bolts waited until the seventh round to select Harrison Meneghin, they used their 193rd pick this past summer to draft Caleb Heil. The move seems to have worked out with Meneghin, who had an impressive final season in the Western Hockey League, and has since signed his entry-level deal. Meneghin should be in the running for a back-up role with the Syracuse Crunch this fall.
In Heil’s case, it might be a little longer until we see him in the blue and white of either the Crunch or the Lightning. For now, the 19-year-old is returning to the USHL for one more season, and is then committed to the University of North Dakota. A lot can change in a year, but his development might be on a longer timeline than Meneghin.
At one point, it looked like Heil’s path to the professionals might be a little shorter. At age 16 he was starting games for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL, going 5-2 with a 2.92 GAA and .908 SV%. There was some early discussion of his place among the top goaltenders of the 2024 draft class, but he hit a bit of a skid in his draft year as he went 6-10-1 with a 4.32 GAA and .850 SV%. He did see some time for the US National team and picked up a bronze medal in the Hlinka Gretzky Gold Cup as well as a silver medal in the Under-18 World Junior Championships.
Following the season with the Stampede he was traded to the Madison Capitals and put in a solid season with a 25-10-4 record on a 2.85 GAA and .896 SV% in 39 appearances. The lure of so much playing team is keeping him in the USHL for another season as opposed to heading straight to the NCAA. There is also a strong chance that he is on the short list for goaltenders to represent Team USA at the upcoming Under-20 World Junior Championship.
Heil spent some time at the Summer Showcase where he posted a 2.50 GAA and .902 SV% in three appearances. Most prospect watchers thought he had the best camp among the three likely goaltenders that will be representing Team USA this winter. How he plays in Madison will go a long way to him getting the starting nod as the US goes for three gold medals in a row.
Watching his highlights prompts one to notice a couple of things. One, he likes to play the puck. No wait, he loves to play the puck. Last season he set a Madison Capitals record for goaltender assists with four. His second noticeable trait is his athleticism. Heil moves around really easily in his crease, especially when he’s moving laterally. He’s not the biggest netminder in the league (he’s listed at 6’2″, which some folks think is a bit generous) but he covers his crease fairly well.
That athleticism can get him into a little trouble. In fact, he has some shades of Hugo Alnefelt in him. Yes he can make some extremely athletic saves, but relying on that often leaves him out of position, especially on rebounds and second-chance opportunities. As he begins to face better competition, that style may betray him a bit. Over the next few seasons, if he can improve his positioning and reading pucks through traffic it’ll help his chances of making it to the professional level.
Heil is a long-term project. Right now, he will spend at least one more season in the USHL and then one or two in college. That’s not a bad thing, especially if he’s getting a lot of reps on the ice. He should be hitting the pros right around the time the Lightning are having to make a decision on what to do with Andrei Vasilevskiy. It’s not likely that Heil is going to step into the NHL right out of college, but there could be an opening or two in Syracuse for him to stake a claim to.
Your Thoughts:
Highlight Videos:
We see his lateral movement in this highlight, especially on the second save. After closing off the near post, he made a nice push out to stop the initial shot, and then was able to slide to his right for the second one.
Again, a nice initial save, and then he follows the play and is able to shift his body to deny a second-chance opportunity. The first save is a little tougher than it looks as the shooter is firing it across the run of action, and there will often be a lot of space on the far post. Heil does a good job of staying square and then knocking it away with his blocker.
Yes, we know this is summer league action and isn’t exactly going at top-notch speed, but the save shows a prime example of something Heil is good at, which is shutting off the lower part of the ice. Even as he reacts to the first move and then has to adjust back, his pads are flat on the ice and there is no five-hole gap for the shooter to slide the puck through.
If you want to watch 21 minutes of USHL action, here ya go. Something that we noticed while watching the video is that Heil likes to get low to shots. He does an excellent job of taking away the lower parts of the ice, but often he is hunched over a little which exposes the top of the net. As the USHL level, and possibly in college, shooters may not be able take advantage of that, but in the pros they will. Also, as you watch him net, note the frantic energy he has to making saves as opposed to the concise, sometimes barely noticeable movements from Andrei Vasilevskiy. Heil will have to calm things down a bit, but that often comes with experience and trusting his positioning.
