Thomas Hickey
Hickey with the New York Islanders in 2018
Born (1989-02-08) February 8, 1989
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New York Islanders
NHL Draft 4th overall, 2007
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 2009–2022

Thomas Robert Hickey (born February 8, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life

Hickey is a high school graduate of the Edge School in Calgary, Alberta.[1]

Playing career

Hickey joined the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2004–05 in a limited role for 5 games. The following season, in 2005–06, he tallied 28 points as a rookie. In his draft year, in 2006–07, Hickey improved to 9 goals and 50 points. He was then drafted in the off-season by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, fourth overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. On July 17, 2007, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kings. Attending the Kings' training camp, he was returned to the Thunderbirds on September 21, 2007, for a third junior season. During the 2008–09 season, Hickey suffered an ankle injury that required surgery after the season. In November 2009, he suffered a shoulder injury that would also require surgery and keep him off the ice until April 1, 2010. Not much later, one game before the Monarchs would begin their playoff run for the 2009–10 season, Hickey sprained his ankle and was unable to play until the semi-finals, when the Monarchs lost to the Hershey Bears. During his time with the Monarchs, Hickey was named an alternate captain.

On January 15, 2013, Hickey was claimed off waivers from the Kings by the New York Islanders. He immediately joined the team during the 2012–13 training camp.[2] He made his NHL debut with the Islanders on January 27, 2013, against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre.[3] On February 21, 2013, Hickey scored his first NHL goal, an overtime winner against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.[4]

In the 2015–16 season, Hickey scored the overtime winner against the Washington Capitals, and with that goal the Islanders clinched a playoff spot in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. Just two weeks later, Hickey scored his first playoff goal in Game 3 in overtime against the Florida Panthers on a pass from Brock Nelson, giving the Islanders a 2–1 series lead. On July 1, 2018, Hickey signed a four-year contract with the Islanders.[5]

Heading into the 2019-20 season, having lost his spot during the 2018–19 season due to injury and the subsequent emergence of Devon Toews, coupled with the Islanders needing an NHL roster spot for Noah Dobson, Hickey was waived and sent to play for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Despite being limited to just 14 games for the Sound Tigers, Hickey was the Islanders nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in the 2019–20 season following the death of his older brother, Dan.[6]

Hickey played out the remaining three years of his contract within the Islanders organization mostly with their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders. During his final professional season, Hickey was loaned by the Islanders to finish his career with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, the affiliate of his original NHL club, the Los Angeles Kings.[7]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2008 Czech Republic
Gold medal – first place2009 Canada

During his third year of major junior, Hickey was chosen to represent Canada for the 2008 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic, where he helped Canada to a fourth consecutive gold medal. He was selected the next year for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa as the team captain, returning with John Tavares, P. K. Subban and Zach Boychuk from the previous year's team. In the third game of preliminaries, he was chosen as Canada's player of the game in a 5–1 win against Germany.[8] Canada went on to beat Sweden in the finals for the third straight year to capture its fifth consecutive WJHC gold medal.

Broadcasting career

Following a 12 year professional playing career, Hickey effectively announced his retirement in joining the MSG Network's New York Islanders broadcast team on October 27, 2022.[9][10][11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 5 2 1 3 5 — — — — —
2005–06 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 69 1 27 28 53 7 1 3 4 10
2006–07 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 68 9 41 50 70 11 3 4 7 4
2007–08 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 63 11 34 45 49 9 1 9 10 4
2008–09 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 57 16 35 51 30 5 2 1 3 4
2008–09 Manchester Monarchs AHL 7 1 6 7 2 — — — — —
2009–10 Manchester Monarchs AHL 19 1 5 6 12 4 0 3 3 0
2010–11 Manchester Monarchs AHL 77 6 18 24 38 7 0 2 2 0
2011–12 Manchester Monarchs AHL 76 2 23 26 36 4 0 4 4 2
2012–13 Manchester Monarchs AHL 33 3 9 12 12 — — — — —
2012–13 New York Islanders NHL 39 1 3 4 8 2 0 0 0 2
2013–14 New York Islanders NHL 82 4 18 22 34 — — — — —
2014–15 New York Islanders NHL 81 2 20 22 26 7 0 1 1 2
2015–16 New York Islanders NHL 62 6 12 18 30 11 1 4 5 8
2016–17 New York Islanders NHL 76 4 16 20 35 — — — — —
2017–18 New York Islanders NHL 69 5 20 25 24 — — — — —
2018–19 New York Islanders NHL 40 0 4 4 33 4 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 2 2 2 4 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 14 0 3 3 10 — — — — —
2020–21 New York Islanders NHL 5 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Bridgeport Islanders AHL 29 4 8 12 12 — — — — —
2021–22 New York Islanders NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Ontario Reign AHL 15 2 4 6 6 5 0 2 2 0
NHL totals 456 22 95 117 190 24 1 5 6 12

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Canada Pacific U17 4th 6 0 8 8 6
2006 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 0 1 1 2
2008 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 1 1 4
2009 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 3 3 2
Junior totals 23 0 13 13 14

Awards and honours

Award Year
WHL
West Second All-Star Team 2007
West First All-Star Team 2008, 2009
AHL
All-Star Game 2012

References

  1. ↑ "CSSHL School Profile: Edge School for Athletes". Canadian Sport School Hockey League. August 20, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Islanders claim Hickey off waivers". New York Islanders. January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Gamer preview, Islanders at New Jersey". New York Islanders. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ Staple, Arthur (February 21, 2013). "Thomas Hickey's first NHL goal a memorable one". Newsday. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Hickey Agrees to Terms on a Four-Year Contract". NHL.com. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Hickey, Lundqvist nominated for Masterton trophy". Newsday. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Defenseman Thomas Hickey loaned to Ontario". Ontario Reign. March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  8. ↑ "World U20 Championships – Best Players Per Game" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  9. ↑ "MSG Networks Adds Thomas Hickey to Islanders Coverage as Studio Analyst". MSGNetworks.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Thomas Hickey joins the MSG Network broadcast team". eyesonisles.com. October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ Jurmann, Zoe (September 11, 2023). "Former NY Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey is returning to MSG Networks". Eyes On Isles. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
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