TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. -- Joe Hicketts won't be the first player you notice on the ice but you will notice him at some point.
Hicketts might be just 5-foot-8 and 20 years old but his skill and leadership ability always rise to the top.
No team selected Hicketts in the 2014 draft but he was invited to Red Wings development camp and impressed enough that he was invited to the prospects tournament.
After that, the Wings signed Hicketts to a three-year entry-level contract.
Hicketts has spent the last four years with the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League, culminating in an 8-goal, 53-assist, plus-38 performance in leading his team to the second round of the playoffs last season.