New York Islanders Second Line Winger Thomas Hickey

Fans always give the coach a run when lineups come out, but in today’s New York Islanders lineup a defenseman has made the leap to forward. No joke.

Hours before the game against the Predators the New York Islanders official account tweeted out the lines for the game. And no joke, Thomas Hickey was named to the team’s second line.

It’s no typo, it’s no mistake. Thomas Hickey is going to play alongside Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey on the Islanders second forward line. Take a look!

This is the same Islanders team that is chasing the for a playoff spot. The same team that’s looking for a jump to keep them relevant at least till the end of the season.

So they go with a guy who’s put up 19 points this season and 85 points across his 336 game NHL career. Wow.

Maybe it works. Maybe Hickey is the reverse Brent Burns. Where going from wing to defense totally redefined Burns’ career, maybe a move to the wing from defense for Hickey will do the same?

Hickey clearly knows how to play in his own end and won’t shirk his defensive duties. It’s his offensive game that leads to so many questions.

Like what type of winger is he exactly? Is he that stand-in-front-of-the-net type like Anders Lee? Is he a dangler and offensive spark like Josh Ho-Sang? Or is he just going to skate straight lines and hope not to get in anyone’s way?

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I for one am excited for this. I hope Hickey is an absolute revelation on the wing. This could go terribly wrong, but by that same token it could go so absolutely well.