Is Hickey really #2 D (right now) ?

[frankieboy]

This is my last attempt to get through to you Frankie boy...

You put 9 people and Frankie in a dark room, then turn on the light.
You ask them what just happened?
9 of them say - you just turned on the light
Frankie says - a wave of energy was released from an atom, thereby releasing packets of energy that...

Too much noise. Get it?

What happened to your last attempt...? As I said, I'd block your posts, but they're fun to read...not very informative...but fun to read.

 

[Thrice]

He sure looked like a #2 D last night. Wow. What a game.

 

[BillD]

Hickey is a still young, learning at this level, pro.
He is undersized and gets pushed around physically.
What I like about him is he is a battler, he does not concede plays because of being out muscled, he sticks with it, fights back, doesn't give up. If he was 6'2 and 210 pounds he would be a beast and we would have a solid guy around the net.
His offensive abilities and skating aren't great, but on this team he is as good as we can get right now.
Ideally Hickey is pushed off the Island by bigger, more talented defensemen who also battle hard. He may be a #2 on this team at this time.

 

[original islander]

He sure looked like a #2 D last night. Wow. What a game.

He's second amongst D man in plus/minus goals and points. At worst he's 3D behind Hammer and Amac. The difference is he's similar to PA in his time here in the sense that he continues to improve.

The fact that he's plus 1 despite how poorly the team has played is impressive and he's done it with playing with virtually every other D man. For all the applause CDH is getting he's -7. Stil am impressed by CDH though.

Hickey also reminds you of PA in the sense that you're not impressed by watching him and at first you credit his success to someone else (JT for PA and Lubo for Hickey) but the results continue when paired with others. In addition although neither looks impressive the end results are usually there. Mistakes are there as they are with any player but continued improvement. He's also a battler like PA; not a fighter but a battler who competes for position and the puck.

 

[It Was 4 to 1*]

This team stinks for a reason.

and hickey is not one of them

I believe it's because it's very sad that a diminutive dman who was wrongfully picked 4th overall 6 years ago, grabbed on waivers, is the second best defenseman on a team that's been rebuilding since that same draft year. And it's true, he is - and that's completely embarrassing for Snow and this farce of a rebuild.

i agree with all of your post except this. our rebuild started with the '08 draft. if milbury had left our team with any future talent other than nielsen, our defense could be looking a lot better. defensemen take a bit longer to develop, especially ones taken in the later rounds of the draft. although he should have taken fowler over nino in 2010. i hated the nino pick

What team have you been watching? I was at the game in Phoenix, and early on in the game, my (knowledgable hockey) wife turns to me and says "who's #14, he's horrible". The best pro Hickey banter I ever hear is "he's not so bad". That's like saying to an obese woman, you're not SO fat, lol.

why do i care about what your wife says?

 

[LeapOnOver]

How did your opinion all of the sudden become fact? It probably would have been better to leave it off as "you can have your opinion, and I'll have mine," but whatever. And, about reading threads (or posts), you disagree with many, yet you don't just read them; you feel the need to respond. Others may want to, as well. Maybe, the moderators should just make a rule that you can only reply if you agree with a post. Then, this thread would turn into one big friendly circle jerk. I'd prefer the honest debate, myself.

In the end, while we disagree, we are all Islanders' fans. We are beaten and abused and often lash out at each other.

Haha, nice!

 

[Tavares2TheRescue]

We can start complaining about Hickey when we have six defensemen that are better than him. Newsflash, we currently only have one, maybe two. Sure, Hickey is always going to be a limited player because of his size, but size is far from a be-all end-all (see: Matt Carkner).

 

[Sheva7]

The fact that people still complain about this guy just bloggles my mind.

 

[IslesNorway]

Like all Isles dmen he is asked to do more than he should. As a bottom pairing guy he'd be just fine but te potential is definately there

 

[goalsniper]

I've watched Hicks make some boneheaded plays once in a while, but I've also seen him make some great plays. Sunday's game vs Minnesota was one of his best games so far. He is in his second season. His rookie season consisted of 39 nhl games. That's not even half of a full 82 game schedule.

Remember, it usually takes D-men longer to mature in the NHL. The guy is still basically a rookie, but I think with a little experience, hard work and effort, he could turn out to be a steal for us. When things go bad, everyone will point at the guy that wasn't part of our "core" because he wasn't drafted by us. Unfortunately, things have gotten so bad, that we're even pointing fingers at Hamonic, JT, and others. Give the guy a chance, and lets see what he can do.

Hickey is definitely not horrible. AMac is.

 

[bigd]

He's proven to be a capable D-man in this league. If he was 6'3" he would be a top D-man in the NHL. He's not and never will be 6'3" so he is what he is, a solid D-man that we got for nothing. If our young D prospects pan out he won't be here after next season.

 

[Goombha]

He's proven to be a capable D-man in this league. If he was 6'3" he would be a top D-man in the NHL. He's not and never will be 6'3" so he is what he is, a solid D-man that we got for nothing. If our young D prospects pan out he won't be here after next season.

Capable of playing against 3rd and 4th lines - I agree. But as soon as he jumps on the ice tonight to give Lucic the business, that's when I close my eyes and pray. That's kinda the gist of the thread.

 

[xECK29x]

I love the guy and the answer is hell no. He is a solid middle pairing D.

 

[Thrice]

He's second amongst D man in plus/minus goals and points. At worst he's 3D behind Hammer and Amac. The difference is he's similar to PA in his time here in the sense that he continues to improve.

The fact that he's plus 1 despite how poorly the team has played is impressive and he's done it with playing with virtually every other D man. For all the applause CDH is getting he's -7. Stil am impressed by CDH though.

Hickey also reminds you of PA in the sense that you're not impressed by watching him and at first you credit his success to someone else (JT for PA and Lubo for Hickey) but the results continue when paired with others. In addition although neither looks impressive the end results are usually there. Mistakes are there as they are with any player but continued improvement. He's also a battler like PA; not a fighter but a battler who competes for position and the puck.

Hickey reminds me a young Stephane Robidas. Both are small d-men with limited skill sets but the hockey IQ is near the top of every team they play on and they just work their ***** off every shift. They never cheat you with their effort.

It's clear that Hickey is carving out his niche in the NHL and as gets older he'll get a bit stronger. He's always been a late bloomer. If you remember him from his days on the U20 Canadian teams, he was typically the smallest and youngest looking kid in the bunch.

If he can stay healthy, I think you guys will find that he'll be a fixture on your defensive 2nd pairing. Ultimately, this was the projection the Kings had of Hickey when they drafted him in 2007. A defensively responsible, puck moving defenseman with a great work ethic and strong character. Maybe they expected more offense out of him but once he got to the pros it became evident that wasn't going to come easy like it did in the WHL.

Everyone sees the #4 overall next to his name and they have star expectations but that isn't his fault. Firstly, 2007 was a weak draft year, especially for defensemen. Second, the Kings hand was forced, as Hickey was their guy but they couldn't find a trade where they'd move down and Hickey would still be available because Boston was supposedly ready to take him with their pick at #8. At this point all that draft stuff is moot.

He's in the NHL now and he's playing 19 difficult minutes per night and he's only getting better. I'm a Kings fan but I will always root for Thomas Hickey.

 

[original islander]

Just wanted to bump this thread up. Hickey is plus 7 tied with Vanek for team best and ninth on the team in scoring with 13 points and second on the team for D men.

 

[bigd]

Just wanted to bump this thread up. Hickey is plus 7 tied with Vanek for team best and ninth on the team in scoring with 13 points and second on the team for D men.

He was actually our best Dman on the ice last night which is sad to say.