If the old adage says good things come in threes, Joe Hicketts of the Victoria Royals is due one more after twice surviving at the Canadian team selection camp for the 2015 world junior hockey championship in Toronto and Montreal.
The Royals defenceman made it past the first round of cuts, as five players were shed from the original 29-player camp over the weekend and sent back to their clubs.
Then Hicketts absorbed a check to the back Sunday in a scrimmage game against the CIS All-Stars, who are in the 20s and older than the juniors, and was held out the rest of the game as a precautionary measure.
But after a night’s rest, he was back at it.
“I took a little hit from behind [Sunday] and they kept me out as a precaution. It felt good in practice [Monday] but was a little sore,” said Hicketts, by phone from St. Catharines, Ont.
“I woke up feeling great. It’s safe for contact.”
That’s good news for Canada. Hicketts is small at five-foot-eight but can move the puck and leads the Western Hockey League in points by defencemen.
Hicketts admitted to an afternoon of nervous waiting on cut-down day. But it was WHLers Morgan Klimchuk and Travis Sanheim of the Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen, respectively, and the OHL’s Chris Bigras from the Owen Sound Attack, Remi Elie of the Belleville Bulls and Nick Baptiste of the Erie Otters who were returned to their clubs.
Canada is now down to two goaltenders, eight blue-liners and 15 forwards. There are three more players to cut, more if any NHL teams release their 19-year-olds to play for Canada. The final 22-player roster must be announced by Dec. 25. Canada opens the 2015 world juniors Dec. 26 against Slovakia, ahead of the remaining pool games against Germany, Finland and the U.S.
“It felt great making it through the first cut,” said the undrafted Hicketts, who this fall was a free-agent signee of the Detroit Red Wings.
“I want to make this team more than anybody else. There is one cut to go.”
The high-end speed and skill of the training camp makes Hicketts realizes this is no longer club play.
“There are a lot of fast and physical players here,” he said.
“The practices are so fast paced and everything [passing] is on the tape.”
Charged with the bench duties as Canada attempts to win its first world junior gold medal since 2009 are head coach Benoit Groulx of the Hull Olympiques from the QMJHL and assistant coaches Scott Walker of the OHL’s Guelph Storm and Dave Lowry of the Royals.
