Scoring an overtime goal is a dream for every hockey player. New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey is used to scoring beyond regulation. Hickey has just 18 career goals, including one in the postseason, but six of them have been in the extra period. That\’s a whopping 33 percent. Hickey played junior hockey for the WHL\’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He played so well in Seattle, that the Los Angeles Kings selected him 4th overall in the 2007 NHL draft. After five seasons for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs (now the Ontario Reign), Hickey was placed on waivers by the Kings, and was later claimed by the New York Islanders. Hickey made the Islanders\’ roster, and became a stable defenseman for them. In 2015-16, Hickey scored an overtime goal in game 3 of the playoffs to help the Islanders beat the Florida Panthers. In his 340 game career, all for the Islanders, Hickey has scored 86 points (17 goals and 69 assists).
Recently, I was able to speak to Hickey. Here are the questions I asked him.
Carter LaCorte (me): \”Out of all of the Islanders defenseman, do you have a preference of who to play with?\”
Thomas Hickey: \”No. I usually play with everyone throughout the year, so I don\’t really care who it is.\”
CL: \”Do you pay any attention to the arena situation?\”
TH: \”Not really. I\’ll keep my eyes out, but I think people [overreact to it]. We\’re hanging on tooth and nail, and our owner are doing everything they can and [we need to] sit back and let them make the tough decisions. We know we are in good hands, so I don\’t pay attention to it.\”
CL: \”Do you think John Tavares will re-sign with the team?\”
TH: \”I do. But, I don\’t know anything. We\’ll see.\”
CL: \”Is it a big blow to lose Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames?\”
TH: \”Yeah, it\’s a blow because he\’s good friends with a lot of the guys, but he\’ll do good in Calgary. We are all rooting for him. We have a lot of depth, but we definitely are going to miss him. He\’s a great teammate.\”
CL: \”What do you think of the trade the Isles made acquiring Jordan Eberle?\”
TH: \”He\’s a good friend of mine. I think he\’ll be a lot better than people think. [I] predict he\’ll do well and exceed expectations.\”
CL: \”Last question. What do you think your overall will be in NHL 18?\”
TH: \”I don\’t know what\’s it\’s ever been. Hopefully it will be better than last year.\”
CarterHud 