When you think of the prototypical NHL defenceman what does your mind conjure up? Is it someone who looks like the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber? A bruising six-foot-four, 233-lb. bruiser who is as intimidating as they come?
Standing at only five-foot-eight, Joe Hicketts is not Shea Weber. But that didn’t stop the Victoria Royals blue-liner from impressing the Detroit Red Wings enough for the NHL club to sign him to a contract in September. “It was definitely an honour and humbling,” Hicketts says. “An Original Six team, a team that every kid grows up watching at some point and the amount of players they’ve put through. Just the history that organization [has], it was special for me and my family.”
Hicketts says he was not overly surprised that he wasn’t taken after his draft-eligible season last year, in which he only played 36 games due to an upper body injury. “I knew that by not playing a lot of games teams would shy away from [me],” says Hicketts. “Being a smaller guy, teams were going to shy away from me already.”
But Hicketts was determined not to let that stop him from trying. He had a conversation with Victoria coach Dave Lowry around the time of the draft that helped keep things in perspective. “It was the worst and best conversation I’ve ever had,” Hicketts recalls. “He said ‘It might be better for you not to be drafted.’ I’d be stuck with one team but now there are 30 to choose from. I think that conversation kind of turned my summer around.”
A couple days after the draft, Hicketts got the call from the Red Wings inviting him to their summer rookie camp. He impressed enough to be brought into their main camp and his play caught their eye enough to where they didn’t want to let him get away, signing him to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Hicketts says that being in camp with the Red Wings and playing next to guys he grew up watching on television, like Pavel Datsyuk, was a surreal experience. He learned that the team wants players who can play every day and fight through minor injuries. He also soaked up the way the professionals conducted themselves on and off the ice, all lessons he has taken back with him to Victoria.
Playing a position that traditionally is filled by bigger men, Hicketts has learned ways to navigate on the ice and be a productive player. “You’ve got to be smart,” he says. “I kind of pride myself on being one of the smartest guys on the ice, having a high I.Q. Being quick with my stick and having the right position is really key for me.”
One example of his intelligence? Not trying to stop Datsyuk in practice. “No, I let some of the older veterans do that, I stayed away,” he says with a chuckle.
Through Victoria’s first 11 games Hicketts had 15 points on four goals and 11 assists. He was recently named the WHL Player of the Week and has been added to the WHL roster for the Subway Super Series games in November. He’s hoping that his play will get him into consideration for Canada’s world junior team. “I think I’m on Hockey Canada’s radar now and I’ve got to find a way to play and get a chance to represent my country,” he says. “It would be a dream come true, I watch every year at Christmas with my family and friends. The big Canada-U.S. rivalry on New Year’s Eve—to think about playing there, it still gives me goosebumps a little bit.”