Everyone likes a Cinderella story, the tale of an underdog overcoming the odds to make it big, and there is no better example of that in hockey this season than Joe Hicketts.
The Victoria Royals defenseman and Detroit Red Wings prospect is the youngest blue-liner on Canada’s roster for the world junior championship, which gets underway Friday in Toronto and Montreal. At 5-8 and 186 pounds, he’s also the smallest member of the Canadian rearguard corps.
Supposedly Hicketts, 18, is also the member of the Canadian defense with the least level of pedigree, though that element of his resume is rapidly changing.
Signed to a free-agent deal by the Red Wings after he went through the 2014 NHL entry draft unselected, Hicketts is the only Canadian defenseman who wasn’t a first- or second-round NHL draftee.
“To make the world junior team and to knock some defensemen off the team who were drafted in the first and second round, it’s a real testament to how well he’s done,… Detroit general manager Ken Holland said of Hicketts.
A shoulder injury limited Hicketts to 36 games during the 2013-14 Western Hockey League season, but he’s certainly shown what he’s capable of when healthy this season, recording 8-30-38 numbers in 31 games. Those totals lead all Canadian Hockey League defenseman in scoring, even though Hicketts has missed several games while in camp with the Canadian squad this month.
“He’s got great hockey sense, he really distributes the puck well,… Holland said. “He knows how to join the rush and he’s competitive. At five-foot-eight, he’s obviously not the biggest guy, but he knows how to position himself.
“He’s got great instincts and hockey IQ. We’re real happy with the first half of the season he’s had after we signed him.…
The Wings invited Hicketts to their summer prospects camp and then extended an invitation to play for their team in their annual fall rookie tournament in Traverse City, Mich. Impressed by what they saw, the Detroit brass brought Hicketts along to their main training camp.
“We invited him to play in the prospect tournament,… Holland said. “He played real well. You kind of think maybe it will drop off going into the main camp and he just continued to play well.
“Our Western scouts, Jeff Finley, Tyler Wright and Marty Stein saw him last year and they felt he had the potential to be one of the top defensemen in the Western Hockey League if he were healthy, so based upon what they’d seen and their feeling and based upon what we saw in training camp, we signed him to a contract.…
Hicketts and the Wings agreed to a three-year, $1.8-million entry-level deal in September. They’ve had success with undersized defenseman in the past, most notably Brian Rafalski, part of Detroit’s last Stanley Cup-winning team in 2007-08.
“He doesn’t skate quite like Rafi yet,… Holland said. “But he’s certainly got high hockey IQ, he’s got great hands. He’s a great kid, he’s competitive.
“I think the only question obviously is his size. We think he’s a prospect. At five-foot-eight, there’s not a lot of five-foot-eight defensemen in the National Hockey League, but the odd guy does it. Brian Rafalski is one of those guys.
“Certainly he’s had a fabulous first half of the year in the Western Hockey League.…
Hicketts is one of five Detroit prospects slated to skate in the world juniors. Center Dylan Larkin, the club’s top pick in the 2014 draft (15th overall), is with the United States. Forwards Christoffer Ehn (106th overall, 2014) and Alex Holmstrom (196th overall, 2014) will suit up for Sweden and forward Julius Vahatalo (166th overall, 2014) is on Finland’s roster.
“I’m going to go to Montreal for four days right after Christmas,… Holland said. “I’m looking forward to seeing our players play.
“I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how Hicketts plays. He’s one of those undersized guys who might just find a way to play in the National Hockey League, because of his instincts, because of his competitiveness. He lets the puck do the work. He’s a good hockey player.…
ON THE WINGS OF TOMORROW is a periodic look at prospects in the Detroit system.
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