Heatley was charged Tuesday with reckless driving after his sports car veered off a road and slammed into a wall at about 130 kilometres an hour, breaking his jaw and critically injuring Snyder.
"Our focus is on our two guys," Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said. "We're praying about their health, to overcome this tragedy."
Snyder, a native of Elmira, Ont., underwent a two-hour surgery for a depressed skull fracture on Tuesday.
Atlanta Thrashers forward Dan Snyder remained in critical condition on Wednesday.(AP Photo)
At a news conference at Grady Memorial Hospital, the neurosurgeon who operated on Snyder said the player was still unconscious but that there wasn't any bleeding into the brain.
"It'll be a few days before we know we can even tell a prognosis," Dr. Sanjay Gupta said. "The underlying brain actually looked pretty good."
Along with a broken left jaw, Heatley also has a minor concussion, a bruised lung and a bruised kidney, according to the team's physician, Dr. Scott Gillogly. None of the injuries appeared to be career threatening, Gillogly said.
The Thrashers cancelled practice Tuesday and were considering cancelling Wednesday night's exhibition against Florida, but have decided to play.
"Nobody's really thinking about hockey," team captain Shawn McEachern said. "We're thinking about the guys."
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Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Iosty said Heatley was driving his black 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena shortly before 11 p.m. Monday when the car left the road and struck a wall in front of an apartment complex in Atlanta's Buckhead neighbourhood.
Officers estimated the car was travelling about 130 km-h, more than twice the posted speed limit for that area.
"Our preliminary reports indicated speed may have been a factor," said Iosty.
The $200,000 vehicle was torn in half. Snyder was ejected from the vehicle, while Heatley got out on his own but collapsed steps from the car.
Heatley faces a total of five charges including reckless driving, serious injury by vehicle, driving too fast for conditions, driving on the wrong side of the road and striking a fixed object.
Heatley took a blood-alcohol test and police said early reports indicated a negligible amount of alcohol in the player's system.
"What I've been told is to not expect any alcohol-related charges," team president Stan Kasten said.
Heatley, 22, won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2001-02 and has since established himself as one of the league's most gifted players.
This season, he was the poster boy on the cover of EA Sports' 2004 NHL video game and was dubbed "The New Face of the NHL" on the cover of a recent edition of The Hockey News.
Last season, he led the Thrashers with 41 goals and 89 points in 77 games. The six-foot-three, 210-pound forward also scored four goals on his way to being picked as MVP of the 2003 NHL All-Star Game.
After the NHL season, the former University of Wisconsin star helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the world hockey championship. Many hockey pundits predict Heatley could be an impact player for Canada at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey next September.
Snyder, a 25-year-old centre, signed with the Thrashers as a free agent in 1999 after playing four seasons of junior hockey for Owen Sound in the Ontario Hockey League.
Snyder finished with 10 goals and four assists in 36 games last season for Atlanta last season, his first in the NHL. He was expected to start the 2003-04 season on the injured list following ankle surgery three weeks ago.
In his minor league career, Snyder helped Orlando Solar Bears win the Turner Cup (IHL) in 2000-01 and the Chicago Wolves (AHL) win the Calder Cup in 2001-02.
with files from Canadian Press
