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Kings sign Joe Hicketts to two-year extension
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Kings are keeping one of their organizational depth defensemen around for another two years. The Kings announced they’ve signed defenseman Joe Hicketts to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55MM ($775K AAV) at the NHL level.

Hicketts has never been a household name as far as prospects go. Still, he made some noise in his first professional season after signing with the Detroit Red Wings as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2016-17 season.

The Kamloops, British Columbia native debuted scoring seven goals and 34 points in 73 games with the Red Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He didn’t earn any individual awards, but Hicketts finished seventh in rookie scoring among defensemen and aided in the Griffins’ championship run in the Calder Cup playoffs scoring one goal and eight points in 19 contests.

Unfortunately, his rookie campaign would be his best year-long performance in the Red Wings organization. Thanks to injuries and players being moved off the team as Detroit began their current rebuild, Hicketts earned the opportunity to debut in the NHL. From January 2018 to November 2019, Hicketts tallied five assists in 22 contests for the Red Wings averaging 18:13 of ice time per game.

He hasn’t played in the NHL since. From 2021 to 2023, Hicketts enjoyed a two-year stint with the Minnesota Wild’s affiliate, the Iowa Wild, scoring 18 goals and 79 points in 133 games. The 2022-23 AHL season has been his best statistical performance up to this point in his professional career, as he finished fifth in scoring among blueliners.

The nine-year AHL veteran is in his second season with the Kings’ affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and his first as the team’s captain. He’s tied for first with Reilly Walsh as the highest-scoring defenseman on the Reign with three goals and 27 points in 52 contests. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, Ontario is expected to make the playoffs this year allowing Hicketts to enjoy the sixth postseason push of his career.

This article first appeared on Pro Hockey Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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This monster of a man looked strong, but he was in super condition, and it was great to see him healthy. · You would have had no idea that he was entangled with the Silver and Black over a new deal, because he acted like the Kolton Miller his teammates and fans love. · He was helping the young guys and encouraging the veterans while maintaining his high standards of effort and play. LTs in the NFL are worth their weight in gold; those as good as Miller, and as impressive of a human as he is off the field, are unicorns. · A terrific player, an even better person. · What contract issue 2.0?? Unfathomably, the Raiders have another veteran player with plenty of wear left on the tires heading into training camp. · WR Jakobi Meyers, like Miller, was out there today helping the young WRs, playing tough and setting a standard of expectation. · Jakobi didn’t drop a ball last year and is a reliable weapon with sure hands. He, like Miller, looked like he picked up at training camp, having never missed a beat from 2024. · Rookie Caleb Rogers, I thought, was okay during OTAs and Minicamp, today, he looked comfortable. He looked good to me, but today he looked the part. He showed some nasty (even without pads), and that edge is what got him to the NFL; it seems like he's found it. · I loved him in college, and have liked him since he arrived in Las Vegas. Today, he looked like what I saw in school. That is fantastic news for the Raiders. · Laki Tasi is new to American Football, and while he still has to get his body in American Football shape, he looks the part. He isn’t ready for the 53-man roster, but I will be stunned if he doesn’t make the practice squad and he has a future in this league. 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He is a solid veteran who knows how to lead and when to lead. · I watched a veteran who made a mistake, and Geno said nothing, and when a rookie made one, he walked over and his countenance changed. · You can’t fake leadership, and one thing that I respect about Geno is that there is nothing fake about him. · He spoke today about Jackson Powers-Johnson coming to Miami to join him after he signed with the Raiders. · Geno joked about JPJ and Maxx Crosby being joined at the hip, but this team has that camaraderie that special teams do. · Make no mistake I don’t think this is a Super Bowl team, by any imagination, but they are building something special, and that is evident. · Geno Smith is so comfortable already in this offense, and the ball floats effortlessly off his hands. It is impressive. The Defense · Jamal Adams may be one of the newest Raiders, but I watched him closely today. To be honest, I didn’t see a lot, which I didn’t expect since he just signed yesterday. 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