He made his National Hockey League debut in the 2002–03 season with the Hurricanes, appearing in ten games and scoring three goals.

[1] A free agent to start the 2009–10 season, Heerema signed with Croatian-based KHL Medveščak Zagreb of the Austrian Hockey League on 23 November 2009.

He suffered a concussion and broken nose following a collision with teammate Matt Francis in Dundee where Panthers won the game 4-1.

During the first leg of the Challenge Cup Semi Final in Braehead, Heerema suffered another broken nose and concussion on February 22, 2012.

[5] Heerema is the cousin of Eric, Marc, Jordan and Jared Staal, all of whom have played professional hockey, and are of Dutch descent.