Hickey receiving national attention
Toronto Rock forward Brett Hickey (11) scores a goal against Calgary Roughnecks goalie Frankie Scigliano (middle) on Saturday, January 31 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. PHOTO BY MARTIN DELAND/TORONTO ROCK
A local lacrosse player is having great success on the professional level.
Brett Hickey is the current leading goal scorer for the Toronto Rock. Born and raised in Windsor, the 24 year-old forward started playing lacrosse at the age of four and has always had a knack for scoring goals.
Hickey is enjoying a great season in the National Lacrosse League with the Toronto Rock. Although the forward is enjoying a successful season, he said he owes much of his success to his mentors in his Junior B days.
At the age of 15, Hickey began his Junior B career with Windsor’s AKO Fratmen. In 146 games played, Hickey started showing signs of his talent scoring 181 goals and a total of 418 points.
Hickey went on to later be drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 NLL draft by the Vancouver Stealth and has since been signed to the Toronto Rock.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Hickey. “I’m trying to take it all in because as fast as it comes, as quick as it goes.”
Alixe Saliba, a grade 11 student at Ecole Secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse said seeing someone coming from Windsor and the same high school dominate on the professional level inspires him to continue getting better every day.
“It’s good to see a player of that calibre come out of Windsor,” said Saliba. “It definitely motivates you to play better. He’s not only a great athlete, but a great player.”
The Windsor native has recorded at least one point in every game this season and has scored in all but one as of April 10. Hickey is also currently tied for fourth most goals in the league at 36. Although Hickey is one of the league’s top goal scorers, he does not think about chasing records. Hickey said he is focused on helping the Rock win games, calling himself “one of six”.
“Right now I’m just a guy helping my team out,” said Hickey. “There are guys who are doing much better than I am points wise. I’m having a good year scoring goals, but realistically it is about winning championships and me finding ways to help.”
Hickey’s success on the floor has helped the Rock to a current best record in the NLL with an 11-4 record, good enough to clinch a berth in this years playoffs with three weeks remaining.
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