Prospect Info: A little Talk on Joe Hicketts and my opinion on him.

Should he be in the NHL next year?


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Jul 30, 2005
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I mean, what is location, really
He had a very good rookie year. He has upside for sure.
And he had an embarrassing sophomore year. Does he still have that upside? Not sure. It doesn't seem like he made progress. I don't count a couple of lukewarm games as proof positive.

Don't let the fact that you want him to succeed convince you that he has. It has not been a good developmental year for Hicketts. There's no spin you can put on it to make that true.
 
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Redder Winger

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May 4, 2017
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I do find it interesting that while talking about AHL production you omitted the fact that Hicketts doubled the rookie production of the two dman you compared him to.

I also don't see anyone claiming "he is out of the woods."

At the end of the day he has work to do but we haven't seen any guys have a better transition to pro hockey except for DDK and Ericsson who were both much older.

Brendan Smith; First 14 games 1-6-7 +3
Adam Almqvist - 2 games, 1 goal
Ryan Sproul - First 10 games 1-4-5
 

SirloinUB

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Aug 20, 2010
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What impact?
What are we talking about?
How many giveaways and breakaways against in just 4 games?

5 giveaways in 5 games. I guess he should be banished from the league like all of these ex-NHLers who are at a giveaway/game:

Yandle, Burns, Gardiner, Petry, Ekblad, Carlson, Subban, Klinberg, Provorov, Alzner, Letang, Karlsson, Doughty, Matheson, Reilly, Martinez, Bufyglin, Chara, Shattenkirk, etc.

Hell, take it a step further to giveaway/point scored and he looks better than some of those names but I digress. Clearly everything sucks /s


Edit: Because I'm sure it has to be said, I'm not predicting Hicketts to be an elite #1 but rather making the point that turnovers aren't reflective of a dmans overall contributions.
 
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GrGriffins

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Jan 30, 2017
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Do you think Hicketts has a lot of upside or skill? I don't really. I especially think his height, lack of reach, and good-but-not-great skating limit his upside. He's okay skill-wise, but he probably shouldn't be on your PP if you have a halfway decent defense group.

Let's not forget: this is a guy who had 10 points in 63 games this year in the AHL. And a -13, so his personal offensive contribution is a net loss.

Let me add my 2 cents worth to this. Hicketts role in GR changed from his rookie season. This season, his offensive output has been reduced and his +/- is on the high - side. This is because Nelson wanted him to be more of a shut down type d-man and since the Griffins have Hronek, Saarijarvi, and Russo as your offensive d-men, Hicketts was not needed to score from the blue line. He has been put out there vs the top forward lines in the AHL this season. So his offense is down and his +/- is not that great. But the Griffins were at the bottom of the Western Conference for the first 2 months of the season before they got it going. But he still hits hard and plays with the same intensity as he did in his rookie season here.

Will he make it to the NHL and stay up there? Good chance he will at some point, but it depends on several factors going into the upcoming draft (trades opening Wings roster spots) and training camp. I think he will start the 18-19 season here in Grand Rapids, but he might get a longer look and he might be the 1st d-man to get called up for injury. Who knows.
 
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SirloinUB

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You don't think Hronek has had as good a transition to pro hockey?

I think that story is yet to be written. Comparable rookie years so let's wait to see how Hronek looks in pre-season/his 1st few NHL games.

Admittedly I overlooked Smith but I think the point stands if we have to go back a decade for a comparable showing.
 

Redder Winger

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I think that story is yet to be written. Comparable rookie years so let's wait to see how Hronek looks in pre-season/his 1st few NHL games.

Admittedly I overlooked Smith but I think the point stands if we have to go back a decade for a comparable showing.

Sproul wasn't a decade.

What about Nick Jensen
2 years ago.
First 10 games 0-4-4 +2
 

SirloinUB

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Aug 20, 2010
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Sproul wasn't a decade.

What about Nick Jensen
2 years ago.
First 10 games 0-4-4 +2

Jensen was like 4-5 years older and produced half of what Hicketts did as a rookie in the AHL.
Sproul ... A lot of things stood out from him.. none of them good. He clearly couldn't think the game at an acceptable level.
 

Hinterland

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Hicketts' future is largely dependent on the development of other defensive prospects in the system. Could he do a job as a bottom pairing PP man with the right partner? It seems as such on a first viewing. But if Cholowski, Hronek and maybe Sambrook keep taking strides, he may never get the chance in Detroit, as there are others better than him already on the NHL roster.

Who? DeKeyser is the only one I see. Green is UFA. Daley isn't bad but declining, Kronwall would be great if healthy but he obviously isn't. Ouellet, Jensen and Ericsson are useless and shouldn't be on the team next season. I like the Redwings forwards but defense may be the worst in the NHL. If it wasn't for good two way forwards the Redwings defense would get exposed even more. Again, go and watch what Zetterberg said about Joe. You can tell he's sick and tired of the mess behind him and rightfully so. Redwings better give some young defensemen a chance if they wanna win games in the near future.
 
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Hinterland

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What impact?
What are we talking about?
How many giveaways and breakaways against in just 4 games?

He played 5, not 4. And while we're talking about small simple size, he was clearly better than most fellow defenders...like he was during preseason. His stats are good and the Redwings got 9/10 points with Hicketts in the lineup...inluding wins against Pittsburgh and at New Jersey. You can't deny this.
 

Frk It

Mo Seider Less Problems
Jul 27, 2010
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He's been good so far, better than I expected. Wouldn't mind him sticking around for a little while. I do worry eventually teams will figure out how to beat him on the forecheck, though.
 

jkutswings

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Jul 10, 2014
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I think he's a career AHL player. But with a defense this bad, there's no harm in giving him a good look.
 

PullHard

Jul 18, 2007
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To echo others - he's probably a #7/ 3rd pair guy at his absolute ceiling, but we can hope he catches on and is more of a #4/5 guy who helps with leadership and fills a role for the team.

No harm in giving him a good look in the next couple of seasons because the defense is so unbelievably bad
 

ShelbyZ

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Apr 8, 2015
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I still predict Hicketts ends up on the NHL roster but it's likely somewhere in the range of a Derek Meech to Brett Lebda type role at his ceiling. Since his waiver exemption runs out after this season, he's probably already penciled in at #7D to start 2019-2020.
 

lilidk

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Mar 4, 2008
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last year he played 5 games with 3 points and +5 rating . He brings energy and waking up teammates . Last year Red wings were playing in sleeping mode , they did wake up 2 times . First time with AA and second with Hicketts
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
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Hicketts seems like a guy who'll play better in the NHL than in the minors.

Why??? NHL players should be a lot more brutal in figuring out his deficiencies and targeting them as they get more familiar with him as a player. Your mistakes are punished, the players are prepared for what you don't do well a lot better at that level. He will have more talent around him, but most of our concerns about Hicketts become a lot bigger in terms of the oppositions ability to exploit what he lacks in my opinion. As Frk It pointed out, how does he hold up to that targeting over a larger time period? I am not sure we are going to like the answer. I want Hicketts to do well, I just have trouble seeing without some skating gains how he is going to make that happen.

He did get some nice bounces during his callup and was let off the hook a few times during that stint on bad pinches and things of that nature. I don't really expect those to play out that way over a longer sample size. I think once the league figures him out a little better they will force him into those areas more in my opinion but time will tell, he cannot complain that he isn't in the right organization to likely get a shot at some point this year to make a bigger case. I think he will get a chance here, but he does need to have a little better year if he is sent to GR to start. Hronek and Cholowski are better than him already in my opinion which hurts his chances for me.
 

Oddbob

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Jan 21, 2016
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Hicketts in his short showing already did more than Dekeyser does currently, so let Hicketts take his spot. The 5 games he played last season, he actually brought some emotion and looked like he wanted to be an impact defender. Maybe he is a touch slow, but if he makes up for it with physicality and willingness to engage in the play, I think he could make it as a #5 or 6 guy.
 

Fil Larkmanthanasiou

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Feb 10, 2018
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I think he'll be an NHLer for sure,Hes definitely a guy that will be overripened before he makes it. Even if hes just a number6/7 D I think hes physical enough and good enough at moving the puck to stick on a bottom pair
I thought he was the most physical and best puck moving defenceman in the 10 games including preseason that he played with the Wings.
 

Fil Larkmanthanasiou

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Of course he makes mistakes...he's a young guy and a rookie after all and he has enough things to work on over the summer. But he has been fair when with the Redwings. In fact his preseason and first games even impressed his teammates. Maybe I read too much into it but Zetterberg's interview after Hicketts first game back, for me, says it all. He was barely asked about Hicketts when he said that Joe was one of the best defenders in his 1st game and still got sent down. Those were his words and the way he said it I think is pretty telling of what he thinks about the defense playing behind him.
In Nashville there probably wouldn't be a spot for Hicketts but if the Redwings think that they can complete a rebuild with Ouellet, Ericsson, Jensen or a Kronwall on one leg then they're totally crazy. And I don't think they do. Hicketts will get a chance to make the team and so should other guys...particularly on defense.
I remember that interview. He was perplexed as to why Hicketts was sent down after his first game with them.
 

izlez

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Feb 28, 2012
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He was responsible for 4 clear-cut breakaways against Buffalo. Stop saying he played well.
 
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Steve Yzerlland

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Jul 18, 2018
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I still predict Hicketts ends up on the NHL roster but it's likely somewhere in the range of a Derek Meech to Brett Lebda type role at his ceiling. Since his waiver exemption runs out after this season, he's probably already penciled in at #7D to start 2019-2020.
I see the same. He is a feel good ‘Rudy’ type story. A little guy with a big heart but yeah that’s about it.
 

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