Nolan Wickham played defence all throughout his AAA days with the Southwest Cougars and he started this year with the Kings as a defender.
But as his rookie season has gone on, Nolan has had the opportunity to play up front as a forward and it’s a transition that he is enjoying. The 18-year-old that grew up on a farm just outside of Waskada has chalked up five points this season, two of which are goals. That includes a dandy against OCN last weekend when he took a pass from Jeriah Shantz, went to the backhand and outlasted Steven Bacovsky for his second marker of the campaign in a 5-0 win.
Wickham has been a solid contributor and provides Dauphin with some excellent depth.
“I feel like I had a good start then sort of went through a rough patch,” said Wickham. “But I think I’m starting to pick things up here and I’m pleased with how I’m playing.”
Nolan says it’s very exciting to be with a team that has championship aspirations. And Nolan is no stranger to being on teams that win. In the 2019-20 season, he scored seven times and had 19 assists on a Cougars team that was 34-12-2. They were also off to a solid start last year before the season was cancelled due to the pandemic. The 35th pick in the 2018 MJHL Draft is also a former provincial champion.
“We have a pretty special group here and we’re all playing towards one cause,” said Wickham. “I love coming to the rink everyday and I love being a King, it’s special.”
The team is heading back up north on Thursday to play the OCN Blizzard, a team that will be completing a stretch of three games in three days.
“Awesome atmosphere there, people slapping the walls with sticks and everything, it’s great to be a part of,” offered Wickham.
Get to know Nolan:
Tell everyone a little about your life on the farm?
Basically just help my dad out with chores, we have cows and grain so it keeps me active every day, I love being a farm kid
What’s your favourite hockey memory?
Probably my second year of U15 hockey with Southwest, we won provincials, it’s something I will never forget
Favourite part about playing with the Kings and living in Dauphin?
I trust everyone on my team like a brother which is a great feeling and I love the city. It’s a little different because I’m not used to seeing traffic lights and so many cars back home but I’m really enjoying it