By Chad Klassen

Hicketts expects to stick with the Red Wings in the short term

Mar 28, 2018 | 5:14 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops native Joe Hicketts, who celebrated recording his first NHL points on Tuesday night, says he expects to remain with the Red Wings for at least the next week, all dependent on how Grand Rapids, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, is fairing without him. 

“I think I’ll be up for the next little bit,” said Hicketts in an interview with CFJC Today. “A lot of it depends on how Grand Rapids is doing. They’re in a playoff race down there. I think the plan is if they’re doing well, I might stay up for a while. If they need help, I’ll go down there and help them. But for right now, I’m just excited to be here and try to help this team win.”

Hicketts flew with the team Wednesday afternoon to Buffalo where they face the NHL’s worst Sabres on Thursday. He’s “99 per cent sure” he’ll be in the line-up for his third National Hockey League game. 

On Tuesday night, Hicketts put two assists on the board, starting the game lined up across from Sidney Crosby. He admitted he was quite “starstruck” playing against the three-time Stanley Cup champion. 

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“That was a little bit of excitement and I guess nervousness,” he said of his first shift. “But once I got back and realized I could play at that level, it was just about going and having fun out there.”

Crosby scored the game’s first goal 38 seconds in with Hicketts defending the 2-on-1 opportunity. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in the second when Frans Nielsen gave Detroit a 2-1 lead on the power play. 

“It was nice,” noted Hicketts. “To see it go in and know I was a part of it, both on the ice and on the scoresheet, it wasn’t a relief at that point but I’ve heard of guys going on stretches where it’s tough to get their first out of the way.”

The 5’8″ defenseman said the two assists takes the pressure off moving forward. 

“You can go through a stretch there, especially coming up to a higher league where you might not produce points and it might add pressure,” Hicketts noted. “But for me to be able to get my first point out of the way in the second game is big. I think it takes a little bit of pressure off. Now I can just go play. Obviously a goal would be nice next, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Hicketts has three goals and seven assists in 63 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He’s also a minus-13 on the season. 

LISTEN: Full interview with Joe Hicketts