Alex Hicks

Alex Hicks enters his 11th year as the assistant coach for Sun Devil Hockey. Hicks spent four years playing collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire from 1988-1992. A three-time team MVP and three-time American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) First-Team All-American, Hicks still holds the school and Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) career records for goals, assists and points. He scored 249 points as a Blugold from 1988 through 1992 with 98 goals and 151 assists. His career point total still ranks 14th in NCAA Division III history and he is one of only three NCHA players listed among the top 25 all-time scorers. Hicks recorded a hat trick seven times during his 116 collegiate career games. His 42 career power-play goals rank seventh in NCAA DIII history. He also had seven shorthanded goals and nine game-winning goals. He received the Wallace G. Akervik Award as the top freshman player in 1989, and the team's Most Dedicated Player Award his senior year when he also served as team captain.  During his career, the Blugolds produced a 53-53-13 record playing in an NCHA that included Bemidji State, St. Cloud State and Mankato State, now all current DI members. Following his Blugold career, Hicks embarked on a 15-year professional career that included five years in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 258 games between the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers, scoring 25 goals with 54 assists for 79 total points. He reached the NHL playoffs both seasons with the Penguins and once with the Panthers. From 2000 through 2006, Hicks played with the Berlin Polar Bears and the Cologne Sharks in Europe. There he played in 267 games with 107 goals and 115 assists for 222 total points. En route to being called up to the NHL in 1995, Hicks played with the Toledo Storm of the ECHL, the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL, the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL, the Baltimore Bandits of the AHL and the Louisville Panthers of the AHL.  Hicks was recognized for his performance at every level. He was an ECHL All-Star with Toledo, also serving as captain as the Storm won the Riley Cup. He was the Las Vegas Thunder Rookie of the Year in 1995. He was the team scoring leader for the Berlin Polar Bears and also with the Cologne Sharks in 2002 when they won the league championship. He was named to the DEL (German Elite League) All-Star Team in 2002 and in 2004 was voted the Most Popular Player in DEL.  In 2002, Hicks played on Team Canada in the German Cup competition. In his first season with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, he centered a line that included most recent  Hockey Hall of Fame selections Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya. That season he was the Ducks' Alka-Seltzer Plus-Minus Leader. In 2002, he founded the Alex Hicks Initiative, a non-profit charitable organization that provides, coordinates and distributes gifts and support to ill and underprivileged children in Cologne, Germany. The organization continues to thrive to this day. Hicks earned his degree in Marketing from UW-Eau Claire in 1992. He is a native of Calgary, AB Canada.