July 08, 2011
Posted in BC Edition, Minor
By Andrew Chong, editor /
Joseph Hicketts, captain of the Kamloops Jardine Bantam Blazers (Tier 1) team, is the winner of the 2011 Hockey Now / BC Hockey Hall of Fame Minor Hockey Player Achievement Award.
The honour is handed-out annually to a B.C. Amateur Hockey Association player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, leadership, hockey ability/performance, and school/community participation. A committee established by Hockey Now reviews applications and selects the winner.
Hicketts joins a group of past winners that includes Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (first overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers), Gilbert Brule (Edmonton Oilers), and Karl Alzner (Washington Capitals).
“It’s an amazing honour for me to win an award associated with those guys,” said Hicketts. “I just look at what they’ve already done in their careers and I think, wow.”
The Victoria Royals (formerly, the Chilliwack Bruins) selected Hicketts with the 12th overall pick at this year’s WHL Bantam Draft. The 5-8, 170-pound defenceman scored 25 goals and 86 points in 68 total games played, this season. He also blocked 51 shots, was a plus-128, and had 393 hits in 68 games.
“I scouted for the WHL’s Tri-City Americans and we conducted a survey of all Bantam prospects in preparation for the May draft,” said his coach, Don Schulz. “One of the questions asked was, ‘which player is the toughest to play against?’ Over half of the 300 players surveyed said, ‘Joe Hicketts.’
Hicketts led his team to first place at three of the most prestigious Bantam tournaments in Western Canada: KIBIHT (Top Defenceman), the St. Albert John Reid Memorial (Tournament MVP), and the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds Tournament (First All-Star). He was also selected to attend the NHLPA’s Allstate All-Canadians program as one of the 40 best Bantam prospects in Canada. Hicketts grew up playing for the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association.
The 15-year-old recently completed Grade 9 at Westsyde Secondary in Kamloops with a 93 per cent average (including 93 in Science, 94 in Math, and 99 in Social Studies). To get ahead in his secondary studies (with the goal of finishing high school early in order to better focus on his WHL career), Hicketts’ took Science 10, Social Studies 10, and Math & Pre-Calculus 10 and completed the three courses with a 91 per cent average. He is taking English 10, this summer.
“I have heard from a lot of ex-WHL players that it is quite hard to keep up with school,” said Hicketts. “I’m glad I did do it because now I have a bunch of credits for graduation and a lot of the core courses are done.”
Hicketts has volunteered as a scorekeeper for school basketball and volleyball events and has worked in the community to help instruct hockey camps and to help flood the outdoor community rink.
Next season, Hicketts will compete in the BC Major Midget League and hopes to get a taste of the Western Hockey League by playing the maximum amount of games as an under-age player. He hopes to compete in Victoria’s first pre-season game, in his hometown of Kamloops, when his Royals take-on the Blazers.
Hicketts will formally receive his award at the BC Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, July 22. The Hall of Fame induction class of 2011 includes Joe Sakic, Jack McIlhargey, Rob Schick, and Duncan Wray.
AWARD HISTORY
The Hockey Now Minor Hockey Player Achievement Award was established in 2000 when it was awarded to Colin Fraser (Edmonton Oilers) Other past winners include Tyler Burton (2001), Brock Bradford (co-winner, 2002), Gilbert Brule (co-winner, 2002) of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, Karl Alzner (2003) of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, Dustin Sylvester (2004) of Germany’s Freiburg EHC, Geordie Wudrick (2005) of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, Stefan Elliot (2006) of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters Kevin Sundher (2007) of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2008) of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels and the Edmonton Oilers, Morgan Rielly (co-winner, 2009) of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, and Griffin Reinhart (co-winner, 2009) of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, and Curtis Lazar (2010) of Pursuit of Excellence.
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