Bickley
appeared in each of the team's 31 games last year.
Key
Statistics: Bickley failed to score a goal last
year, but he was one of only three Black Knights to play in
all 31 of the team’s games. He registered six assists.
As a freshman, Bickley tallied a goal and eight helpers. For
a defenseman, he rarely gets whistled for penalties. He went
to the box just six times last season.
What
He Does: At 5-feet-9, 180 pounds, Bickley doesn’t
have great size on the blue line, so he relies on his hockey
sense to be effective. He calls it his “mental edge.”
He’ll study the opposing team’s top offensive
players, learn what they like to do in certain situations,
and then try to mimic them from a defensive standpoint. Bickley’s
offensive contributions are limited, save for being counted
on to bring the puck up during breakouts.
The
Bigger Picture: Bickley is a product of Shattuck
St. Mary’s in Minnesota, where he played with the likes
of Zach and Jordan Parise, Ben and Patrick Eaves and Brady
Murray, among others. While he doesn’t have the skill
of his famous former teammates, Bickley is the kind of player
Army loves. He plays a disciplined, team-first game and is
more than happy to forgo offensive glory for down-and-dirty
grunt work. That’s why he has been picked as an assistant
captain this season. Interestingly, despite his one career
goal, the Black Knights’ coaching staff has approached
Bickley about shifting to forward, a position he played some
in high school and less in juniors, this season. He would
serve as a defensive-minded winger.
Bickley,
on playing within Army’s conservative style:
“We have a pretty disciplined lifestyle here, so we’re
used to having things set up for us. It fits our mentality.
There would be no advantage for us to race up and down the
ice and get in a shootout with some team. We’re just
going to keep up what we’re doing and, hopefully, we’ll
have some success this year.”
