A quick glance at Dylan Heide’s stats could give you the wrong idea of what kind of defenceman he is.

The 20-year-old from West Kildonan put up steadily increasing offensive numbers over four seasons with the Selkirk Steelers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, culminating with a 61-point campaign this year in 62 games. But Heide brought much more to the table.

"Dylan played top minutes," said Steelers coach Ryan Smith, who worked with Heide for the last three seasons. "He played 25-plus minutes a game, not only scoring a lot of points, but killing penalties and shutting down the other teams’ top lines. We leaned on him for leadership, too."

Heide said it took him a while to adapt from AAA hockey—he played for the Winnipeg Hawks—to the faster and tougher junior game.

"I think I was just average at everything," he said. "But I progressed a lot in all aspects throughout my career. You could be looking at my numbers and thinking I’m all offence, just run and gun, but I take pride in the D game and continue to work on that at all times."

For his excellence on the ice and his commitment to the Selkirk community, Heide was recently named the first recipient of the MJHL’s Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba scholarship, a $2,000 contribution toward his post-secondary education.

"It was very exciting to be the inaugural winner," Heide said. "It’s a privilege and an honour. It definitely means a lot because the Selkirk community and the Steelers have done a lot for me."

In addition to anchoring the Steelers’ blue-line, Heide was a tireless volunteer in the Selkirk area. Along with many of his teammates, he delivered hampers for the Christmas Cheer Board and helped young kids with on-ice instruction at learn-to-skate programs and summer hockey camps.

"It’s pretty humbling to see people in need like that," Heide said of the Christmas hamper deliveries. "Any way we’re able to help out is awesome. It’s pretty important for us to do that."

Helping kids develop their skating and hockey skills isn’t something Heide starting doing until recently, but he can now see it becoming a lifelong pursuit.

"It’s really cool to help them out because they look up to you," Heide said. "It’s a lot of fun to give your knowledge to younger guys."

While playing for the Steelers, Heide got a head start on a business degree as he took several courses at the University of Manitoba. He’s looking forward to continuing his academic career while playing hockey at a Canadian university — but he isn’t ready to declare which school he’ll be attending.

As far as Smith is concerned, Heide won’t have much trouble adapting to the collegiate game.

"He’ll definitely keep improving," Smith said. "He has a lot of good qualities. He works hard, he’s focused, and he’s always trying to get better. He’ll have some great success in CIS."

avi.saper@canstarnews.com