Here’s the rookie-camp interview with Thomas Hickey. On the OTHER subject, Patrick O’Sullivan and his agency did not return calls today. I’m still waiting for an extended chat with Dean Lombardi. For now, here’s Hickey…
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I got an e-mail question the other day about Thomas Hickey’s AHL eligibility. Under the AHL/CHL agreement, a player must be either 20 years old or have played four years of junior hockey in order to be eligible to play in the AHL. Hickey has played three full years of junior hockey, plus five games in 2004-05. I’m told that does NOT make him eligible for the AHL under its agreement with the CHL. A player must play 25 games in order to have officially “played” a CHL season. (sorry about the typo earlier). So if Hickey doesn’t make the Kings, he will go back to Seattle of the Western Hockey League.
Here’s the second part of Don’s interview with Thomas Hickey…
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Don tracked down Thomas Hickey, the Kings’ top prospect on defense, who has had a rough few weeks. Hickey sustained a knee injury and a concussion and watched his Seattle team get eliminated from the WHL playoffs. Hickey discusses his season and his injuries and looks to the future. It’s a good, long interview, so here’s the first part…
Thomas Hickey
Defenseman
DOB – 2-8-89
Stats:
Seattle (WHL)
- Reg season: 11 goals, 34 assists (45 points), 49 PIM
- Post season: 1 goal, 9 assists
Seattle Coach Rob Sumner on Thomas Hickey:
“He was a year older, and physically he could really battle. The physically maturity helped him round-out his game. I think it has improved his shot. His skating ability and his shot are strong aspects of his game.”
Leadership: “He’s our captain, and as an 18-year-old player, that is rare in our league. Usually that is for 19 or 20-year-olds. He really go into the leadership mix at 16 because he was such a good player and logged so much ice time as a young player that he was a leader among that young group and respected by the older guys. He formally got in to the leadership mix at 17 when I put an ‘A on his sweater, and that was very young, but he was ready for it. He is mature beyond his years.”
Development areas:
“He dominates at our level against the young guys, but looking ahead to the NHL, there are very, very strong men at that level and he’s going to have to take another step strength and physical development-wise. And I think his shot has improved, but I think the next step is to create more strength on the shot as well.”
NHL next season?
“I know the guy and how competitive he is and how he comes to play and impact games, so I would certainly never count Thomas out. I think the world of Thomas and believe he is going to be a great NHL player.”
Thomas Hickey sat out part of the WHL playoffs because of a concussion, but that wasn’t his biggest problem. Hickey had surgery this week to repair a torn ligament in his ankle and will be off the ice for 6 to 8 weeks. It’s not known when exactly the injury happened, but Hickey definitely played for a while, knowing he was hurt bad. If you’re the Kings, that’s both admirable and terrifying. Hickey should be skating by the time the Kings have their prospects camp in July.
According to the Seattle Times, Thomas Hickey is unlikely to play tonight. Hickey took a knee to the head during Friday’s game, and although the word isn’t being used, he’s almost certainly suffering from a concussion. Seattle plays Tri-City tonight in Game 3 of the WHL Western Conference semifinals. The series is tied 1-1 and the teams play again Wednesday. Here’s the story…
T-birds’ Thomas Hickey might not play in Game 3 vs. Tri-City
Following up on the Thomas Hickey story, he did not play last night for Seattle, the day after he took a knee to the head during a game. According to a couple newspaper articles, holding out Hickey was precautionary, but we’ll see. The WHL Western Conference semifinals resume Tuesday, with Seattle and Tri-City tied 1-1.
Also, rather than recap a lot of information, I’ll refer you to the Union-Leader’s stories about Manchester, which have some good stuff about Jonathan Bernier and an injury to Brian Boyle. Kevin Provencher does a great job of covering that team. Here you go…
Bernier sharp in debut with Monarchs
Monarchs Insider: Kings’ future starts in Manchester
Thomas Hickey took a knee to the head in last night’s Seattle Thunderbirds game and had to be helped to the locker room. No specific diagnosis was given, but Hickey returned to the bench for the third period, even though he didn’t play. After the game, Seattle coach Rob Sumner told the Seattle Times, “Hickey was cleared and was OK to play, but given the score, we decided to hold him out. We got a lead and tried not to take our foot off the gas. They’re a very good team, and I’m sure they’ll come back hard.” Game 2 is tonight, and there’s no indication that Hickey won’t play, but we’ll see.
As I prepare to leave for yet another Daily News goodbye lunch, here’s the interview that Don Fulton did with Thomas Hickey, the Kings’ first-round draft pick last year. The Lombardi stuff will take a while to get up — as it usually does — but I’ll do my best. Here’s Hickey…
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