Portland Winterhawks defenseman Nick Cicek is developing into a reliable defensive, defenseman. The WHL season is slightly over a quarter complete and the Winterhawks are rotating their younger defenseman in and out of the lineup.
Portland, under GM and head coach Mike Johnston, uses the first portion of the season to distribute playing time among different guys. Johnston sees this as an opportunity to gauge more information about his team. This approach also shows how different players handle difficult situations.
Last season rookie defensemen Clay Hanus and John Ludvig rotated seeing game action. Hanus played 56 regular season games while Ludvig appeared in 51 contests.
The year prior it was Matthew Quigley and Conor MacEachern who took turns as a healthy scratch. Hanus and Ludvig are now playing every game for the Winterhawks.
Johnston describes Cicek as a “physical guy, he is gritty, stands up for his teammates; I like his puck movement.”
Through Portland’s first 22 games, Cicek’s seen the ice 11 times. Nick said, “We have a lot of strong defense on the back end, so it can be hard to get in the lineup. As a defensive core we have a great group though.”
Associate coach Kyle Gustafson, who works and coaches all the defensemen, feels “it has been tough getting him in with our three-man rotation we currently have.”
Cicek was selected in the 7th round of the 2015 Bantam Draft. Three years later, he is the only Portland selection still on the Winterhawks roster. Nick was drafted out of the Winnipeg Monarchs program. Cicek spent time with both their Midget and Bantam programs. In 2015-2016 he was a captain with the Winnipeg Wild Midget AAA team.
Cicek’s performance in training camp and preseason stood out to Gustafson, “He is off to a good start. He was solid in training camp coming into the season and chipped in offensively in the preseason.”
2018-2019 is officially Cicek’s rookie season, but he received valuable experience last year. Nick was recalled from the Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. His recall came with some of Portland’s top players away at the World Junior Championships. “It is a lot different here, but playing with the Blues definitely helped me get to the level I need to be to play in this league.”
Johnston said, “Last year I think, when he was here for the first part of the year, I thought he had to move the puck quicker and decisions on the breakouts. He has really improved in that area.”
Six of Nick’s seven appearances last year came in the week after Christmas and the first week of the new year. “It is always good to get some experience under the belt to know the speed and physicality of the league,” Cicek said. “It definitely felt a lot easier coming in this year.” Experience is something not many Winterhawks have the opportunity to rely on.
Jared Freadrich and Brendan De Jong play a significant role during games for the Winterhawks. Their impact to Portland goes beyond what they do on game days. Freadrich and De Jong are both assistant captains in their overage season. Each has taken the younger, less experienced players under their wing. Cicek is “learning from our two 20’s on the back end. They have great poise with the puck.”
Cicek is a defenseman who isn’t afraid to make an outlet pass on the breakout either. He has been watching both Freadrich and De Jong make “smart, heads up plays with the puck. It is good to watch them to see what they are doing and try to model my game a little bit after them,” Nick said.
In practice Cicek works with skills coach Tomas Pacina on his skating, pivots, and hip work. An area of emphasis for the coaching staff for the younger defensemen is puck retrievals. Spending one-on-one time with Pacina “has been a huge help” for Cicek.
Nick describes his game, “I’m a big defenseman. I like playing physical. I’m strong in my defensive zone, but like to jump up into the offensive rush and take lots of shots.” Gustafson said, “Nick has been with our program for a little while now. He is reliable defensively. He has a presence to him if you look at his size, he leans on guys a little bit. We have been really happy with him.”
Johnston is using Cicek in games against some of the bigger and stronger teams in the WHL to put Nick in the best situations to succeed. “I think every team needs a mixture of players on your team to be an effective team. Nick, along with Brendan [De Jong], adds some size and strength to our defense. When you are playing bigger, stronger forwards he can move them and box them out.”
Cicek’s focus is “continue playing well, get in the lineup when I can, and play my game every shift.” Cicek is showing his defensive prowess every game he plays.
Johnston praised Cicek’s development, “I think overall his hockey IQ is really good which is what we look for in our defensemen. I like where he is progressing.”
