He’s glad he made an honest effort to see if it was for him or not, but he’s feeling somewhat disappointed things couldn’t have been better.
Jesse Hickey, a 15-year-old Benoit’s Cove native, has pulled the plug on his rookie season with Newbridge Academy of the East Coast Elite League based in Dartmouth, N.S.
A first-year midget, Hickey wanted to check out the hockey scene at Newbridge to see if he had what it takes to play the game at a higher level after a great season with the Western Kings AAA bantam hockey team the previous season.
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Benoit’s Cove's Jesse Hickey taking his game to Newbridge Academy
It turned out the game was faster than he expected and less crashing and banging so it was an adjustment, but he got his fair share of ice-time and accumulated three goals and three assists in just 15 games.
He decided to pack it in two weeks ago and returned home.
He didn’t like the way the coach ran the team, believing he put too much onus on one player to do it all.
Away from the rink it wasn’t much better.
He was living with a billet family with a teammate and he didn’t receive the hospitality that he was expecting when he went up there. He lost 15 pounds off his six-foot-one frame since he left home.
“They never fed us that much because they were always working,” he said.
He’s planning on attending tryouts for the Dennis GM Western Kings next winter with hopes of joining some of his former AAA bantam teammates.
He’s also willing to entertain offers to take his game elsewhere.
Hickey had no idea what to expect when he made the decision to move away from home. He just wanted to see if it was the right fit for him and see how he stacked up.
It’s safe to say he found out what he needed to know.
