Small sample size of Hicketts looming large

It’s said that the little man must prove that he can, while the big man will be offered many chances before it is determined that he can’t. The fact of the matter is that despite his solid performance so far in two NHL games, establishing himself as an NHL regular will prove to be a tall order for Detroit Red Wings defenseman Joe Hicketts. That being, the 5-8, 180-pound Hicketts, despite being overlooked and doubted at every level of the game, continues to produce. He will play his third NHL game Thursday at Buffalo against the Sabres and Hicketts will seek to build on his two-assist performance in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. “Joe has just got lots of swagger, lots of confidence,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “With that kind of swagger, he’ll have to manage his turnovers, he’ll have to manage certain mistakes but he plays to win hockey games. That’s why he’s had success at the Canadian world junior level, that’s why he had success in the WHL, that’s why he had success in the American League. “He doesn’t look like a normal NHL defenseman with his size, skating combo. He’s been able to defy odds. Can he keep defying odds? We’ll see. Careers certainly aren’t defined in one game or two games. They’re defined time after time after time.… The additional scrutiny is not something that is foreign to Hicketts. His diminutive stature leaves him to stand out in a crowded ice fill with skyscrapers in comparison to him, but he strives to show every day that he can do what everyone else can do, and in some cases, do it better. He led the Wings with six blocked shots in Tuesday’s win, three fewer blocks than were accumulated by the entire Penguins team. “I think it’s something in my game,… Hicketts said. “Obviously, I’m not the biggest guy around on the defense. Boxing out might be something I’ll let the bigger guys do. I’ll get in front and front shots. It’s something I’ve really been learning down in Grand Rapids. A guy like (former Wing) Brian Lashoff has really been helping me with that.… There’s a few little things that could loom large as Hicketts develops. He listens well, he learns quickly, and he never stops competing. “I know that if I want to leave the impression I want to leave you’ve got to go out there and do what the coaching staff wants,… Hicketts said. “Doing too much has gotten me in trouble many times before, but those are errors you learn and live with.… Certainly, Hicketts, 21, has plenty of backers, and not just within the Red Wings’ fanbase. “He’s just a big smile that comes in, brings a lot of energy,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “That stuff’s contagious. That’s something we definitely need right now.… Blashill isn’t about to rule Hicketts out, because he’s seen a player of similar ilk grow from his tutelage into an NHL presence. Boston defenseman Torey Krug played junior for Blashill with the USHL Indiana Ice. “I think with Joe, ultimately when you’re an undersized D, you’re going to have to find a way to be elite on the power play,… Blashill said. “I think most of the undersized D in the league, and certainly I coached one in Torey Krug, are elite on the power play. Joe’s not the same. He doesn’t have the same deception that Torey has, but can he find a way to make the power play really cook? That’s a big thing for him, but the other side is does he make more positive plays than negative plays? “He’s never going to be perfect. He’s never not going to make mistakes. That’s not going to be the kind of player he is. He’s always going to have positives and negatives. But can those positives outweigh the negatives? That’s the biggest thing. That’s what Torey Krug did in junior, and he’s built that throughout his career, and I think that in Boston, he’s made more positives than negatives.… So far, the Hicketts experience is giving off a positive vibe. But, as Blashill likes to say, and pardon the pun - it is a very small sample size. Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer