Kavanagh, after being selected by the club with pick 19 in last week's NAB AFL Draft, clearly doesn't need to look far for inspiration in his debut season.
""He's given me a little bit of advice,"" Kavanagh said at Victoria Park, where the club unveiled its three new draftees – Kavanagh, Jackson Merrett and Nick O'Brien.
""He just said to come into the club and to speak up and not be shy and all that kind of stuff. That's the main thing he's driven into us.""
The 18-year-old said Heppell had provided a great example of how hard work could translate into success at AFL level, after Heppell's debut season saw him play every game and win the NAB AFL Rising Star.
""I think they're trying to build me up pretty quick and even he (Heppell) has put on a bit of muscle since last year,"" Kavanagh said.
""They're going to try to build us up and throw us into the deep end.""
The trio started at the club on Monday and have been given introductions to the football program, the weights program, the playing list, diet expectations and a standard of training higher than they had ever experiences. Already it has seen some lifestyle adjustments.
""I've been fairly tired after training so I've gone to bed fairly early,"" said Merrett, a midfielder in same mould of Kavanagh: quick, classy and lightly-built.
Aside from Heppell – who will provide every first-year player with the hope they can immediately play at AFL level – each of Merrett, Kavanagh and O'Brien have identified players within the club who play similar positions and who they can watch and learn from.
Kavanagh highlighted Brent Stanton – ""He's an endurance athlete who does a 16 beep test so I'm trying to keep up with him,"" he said – while Merrett has had his eye on his captain, Jobe Watson. ""Being with the midfield group you just try to tag along with Jobe and the other guys who work really hard,"" he said.
For O'Brien, a medium-sized, hard-working half-forward, Essendon's leading goalkicker in 2011 offers an excellent option.
""I've certainly tried to follow around Stewart Crameri a little bit,"" he said. ""Being that endurance-related lead-up forward, he'll be someone I'll model my program on and take any advice he has.""
Quizzed on the health of his hamstring – a question he has received plenty of times and will be asked about much more after an injury-interrupted 2011 – Kavanagh said it was ""pretty good"" and that he was just ""trying to get stuck into training.""
And that's what he and Merrett and O'Brien did, none of them looking out of place or overwhelmed.
