Max Heise and his family after Heise signed his agreement to play with the Raiders. (Photo submitted/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Committed to Michigan State

Raiders sign NCAA committed Max Heise

Jun 25, 2025 | 2:51 PM

For the Prince Albert Raiders, it looked like the Raiders were not going to see the likes of Max Heise play for their team when he decided he wanted to go the college route in hockey.

Drafted 55th overall in the third round of the 2021 WHL Draft, the same year the Raiders selected current Raider Tyrone Sobry, the 19-year-old Heise was committed to playing his 2025-26 season in NCAA Division I with Michigan State University.

Now that the rules have changed around CHL players heading to the NCAA, the pathway has opened for Heise to join the Raiders and play in Prince Albert without losing his college eligibility. As a result, Raiders General Manager Curtis Hunt has signed Heise to play for the 2025-26 season.

“I think he’s got tremendous game sense, he’s a 200-foot player, I think a real complete player. We’ve just stayed in contact with the family, we’ve wanted them to come, trying to respect the fact that he had chosen the other route. Well, now with the opening up of the NCAA, we’re really excited to to bring them in and cclimate them to our club as quickly as possible and continue to further his development and prepare him for next steps. I think he has an opportunity to be a pro.”

Originally from Calgary, the right handed forward played all of his AAA hockey in his home town with the Calgary Flames AAA programs, including winning an Alberta Elite Hockey League Championship in his 16-year-old year. That season, he posted 14G-18A-32P in the regular season and as well another 10G-6A-16P in 11 playoff games.

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He also played five games at the junior level in his 16-year-old year with the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL.

For the last two years, Heise has been in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees. In that time, he’s played a total of 99 games in the league with 33G-26A-59P to his name in the regular season, and another 5G-13A-18P in 36 playoff games, including playing in a BCHL final during where they lost in six games to the Surrey Eagles.

With all that playoff experience between the Vees and his AAA, Hunt thinks he’ll be a valuable addition to a Raiders team looking to improve on last year’s success.

“I could argue that he was one of their better players this year in the postseason. When it really matters and the game gets buckled down and it’s the same opponent night and night out, I think he really had a great playoff. So we’re excited to obviously build off last season, but to add this kind of depth, the right-handed center and a personal player, he can play anywhere and all situations as well.”

Despite the Penticton Vees coming to the WHL, Heise’s rights do not stay with the Vees. The Vees only held his rights to play in Junior A, while the Raiders maintained his rights to play in the CHL. Essentially, the Penticton Vees that played in the BCHL and the Vees that are joining the WHL are two different entities as far as player rights are concerned.

Max’s father Kevin played a year of pro hockey in Germany in 1994, and played two years in the WHL including a year as captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 1988.

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Nick.Nielsen@pattisonmedia.com