Hicketts on the rise

TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. — Joe Hicketts won’t be the first player you notice on the ice but you will notice him at some point.

Hicketts might be just 5-foot-8 and 20 years old but his skill and leadership ability always rise to the top.

No team selected Hicketts in the 2014 draft but he was invited to Red Wings development camp and impressed enough that he was invited to the prospects tournament.

After that, the Wings signed Hicketts to a three-year entry-level contract.

Hicketts has spent the last four years with the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League, culminating in an 8-goal, 53-assist, plus-38 performance in leading his team to the second round of the playoffs last season.

Now it is time for Hicketts to show what he can do at the professional level.

“He was a leader,” said Jiri Fischer, director of player development. “He was definitely one of the leaders on the World Junior team. He was the only returnee on defense for Team Canada at the World Juniors, which is a huge honor. I saw him play in Finland and I saw him play for Dave Lowry, who I respect very much as a coach, played in Victoria. They were the top team after the regular season.

“Joe, he kept his production up again and he was one of the best leaders in the league so he is definitely ready for the next step. What the next step is is the camp and he seems like he can really manage pressure well. He came unsigned, undrafted into development camp and then he went to big camp, he earned a contract so he seems like he can handle pressure well and he’s coming into camp again and there’s spots, there’s jobs for grabs. He’s going to have to get established again.”

Hicketts joined the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins at the end of last season.

“I just practiced,” Hicketts said during July’s development camp. “It was good, learned a lot …

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