St Jean’s Hicks leading Waywayseecappo in MJHL

Sebastien Hicks found the perfect way to break out of a scoring slump.

The St Jean forward scored twice in Waywayseecappo’s 5-4 overtime win over the Selkirk Steelers, including the game winner.

With the Wolverines on a 4 on 3 powerplay Hicks took advantage of the extra space, working his way down to the faceoff spot, and wristing home the game winner to give his team a victory.

“It felt good to get the monkey off my back,” Hicks said with a chuckle a couple days later.

“I knew I needed to do something. In overtime, on the powerplay, it’s too good not to try something. I got the puck, shot it as quickly as I could and it went in. I can’t even tell you how good it was to finish off that game.”

The 2005-born forward is enjoying a breakout season in the MJHL and has been a mainstay near the top of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s scoring race this season. In 92 games before this season, Hicks had just 49 points. Through 28 games this season, he already has 36 points, on pace to more than double his career totals in his final year of junior.

Hicks isn’t just a late-bloomer in junior A, he was also a late bloomer when it comes to minor, finally breaking out in his final year of U18, scoring more than a point-per-game with the Pembina Valley Hawks.

“I was pretty much a first round cut playing U15 Hawks both years,” Hicks said.

“My first high school year I got cut from the U18 team and I really made it my goal to make the team. I wouldn’t say I’m the most naturally skilled player. My game’s more off of my hard work. I put the hours in and I’m getting exactly what I’ve put into it.”

Waywayseecappo squeaked into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season last year, only to lose a hard-fought series to Dauphin in the first round. Hicks, alongside fellow 2005-born players Ben Roulette and Kurt Rookes committed to return to the Wolverines with a new purpose.

“I wasn’t happy with how things ended last year,” Hicks said, noting he had a renewed focus on this ice this off-season.

“We knew we had to work hard… The older I get, the more mature my game gets. My 20-year-old year is my last year, and if I can’t play with confidence, honestly I don’t want to play at all. I feel like I want the puck more, I get the puck more, I can create more the more confidence I get.”

Hicks said he had a feeling a breakout season was coming after skating with major junior and college players over the warmer months.

The Wolverines had a rough November after a strong start to the season, with injuries throwing a wrench into the team’s season.

“We’ve had broken shoulders, broken feet, broken hands,” Hicks said.

“You can’t dance around it, you can’t play through those kinds of things… I know we can get on a streak here and start winning games.”

Hicks and the rest of Waywayseecappo will be in the region one more time this season, as they play the Niverville Nighthawks Feb. 28.