Heatley was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round of the draft (and second overall) in 2000. In 2002 he won the NHL Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year after scoring 41 goals and 89 points in 77 games. He was also picked as Most Valuable Player of the 2003 NHL All-Star Game.
On September 29, 2003, Heatley was seriously injured after he lost control of the Ferrari 360 Modena he was driving and struck a wall, splitting the car in half and ejecting him and his passenger. Heatley suffered a broken jaw, a minor concussion, a bruised lung and, bruised kidney, and tears of three ligaments in his right knee; his passenger, teammate Dan Snyder, was critically injured with a skull fracture, fell into a coma, and died six days later on October 5. Heatley has been charged with vehicular homicide as a result of the crash.