Sicard proving he’s more than a fighter

HUNTSVILLE, ALA – Over the past decade or so, the National Hockey League has been evolving its on-ice game from one where physical play begat goals to a more wide-open skating style that is favored by fans in Europe. While that may be good for players like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, it has at the same time begun to alter the game of one of its building block role players: the enforcer. Huntsville Havoc forward Dennis Sicard is no exception to the rule when it comes to enforcers. Known for most of his hockey-playing life as the guy who protects the scorers on his team, he has had to alter his approach and become a scorer in order to keep a roster spot. “Those guys now have to be a lot more well-rounded. They have to have some worth and value other than just being and enforcer and sticking up for teammates. You‘ve got to be able to play the game in some aspect,” Huntsville coach Randy Murphy said. “In Denny‘s case, he‘s got great speed and he‘s a great penalty killer. He can get in on the fore-check real quick and cause teams to fumble the puck a lot. Then he‘s got the other asset of his game which is his toughness. It was just a matter of Denny finding those other aspects and feeling confident that he could apply those and to this point he has.” From a pretty early age, Sicard was seen as an enforcer-type. During his midget playing days,

two coaches, Johnny Johnson and Kyle Campbell, put Dennis on a line with two players who were smaller than he was. They then asked Sicard to protect his teammates by whatever means necessary. It was just the beginning of a role that would carry Sicard into the pros. “I did my job and that’s how I got into fighting because I knew that I’d always have to stick up for them,” Sicard said. “My coach said to me that I was just a grinder and that I could actually make it somewhere if I kept that up so that’s what I kept doing.” For a kid who had taken up the game at age 13 (which Sicard admits is late by Canadian standards), it didn’t take much for him to heed the instructions of a coach. The fact that a mentor had called him a grinder and equated it with working hard left an impression that was hard to ignore. “I didn’t have all of the fundamentals and stuff. I wasn’t a great stick-handler but I could skate like the wind. I just kept working hard,” he said. “That was the big thing. Work ethic is huge in hockey and I just kept doing that and kept working hard and pretty much the grinding world fell into working hard. I never wanted to be a great stick-handler but I did what I did well which was grinding.” Sicard graduated to the juniors in 2003, playing for the Bancroft Hawks of the OPJHL. During his first season, he played in 41 games during which he scored nine goals and 23 points. His impact was felt in other ways as he amassed 130 penalty minutes. A year later, Sicard was with the Port Hope Predators where his goal numbers jumped to 12 and his PIMs rose to a robust 200 in 47 games. In 2005-2006, Dennis started with Port Hope but found his greatest success back in Bancroft. Back with the Hawks, the penalty minutes still hit triple digits again (127) but Sicard found out what it was like to really be a scorer. In 28 games, he lit the goal light 14 times and added 28 assists for 42 points. It made him realize that being the tough guy wasn’t the only thing he could do well. “I think I just got the tough guy thinking in my head and I just wanted to focus on that,” he said. “When I started just playing the game and got more chances to show myself, like on the power play and different situations in the game, when I got to do that kind of stuff it gave me more confidence and I was able to get points.” Buoyed by his new found scoring touch and more complete game, Sicard finished juniors and decided to go the college route, shuffling off to SUNY-Buffalo. His experience there was less than what he had hoped for, seeing action in only 14 games during the 2006-2007 campaign. By the end of the season, he had made up his mind to leave school and turn pro. The first stop on the professional road for the Cobourg, Ontario native was the CHL and the Tulsa Oilers. When he got to Tulsa, Sicard again heard the mantra about working hard. Assistant coach Dan Hodge worked with Dennis on his all-around game but after five games, Sicard had no points and 12 penalty minutes. The numbers earned him a ticket out of town. Disappointed and a bit stunned, he found his way to a spot with the Richmond Renegades – and an instant following. “I didn’t really know what to expect when I got down there because I was kind of devastated that I got released (by Tulsa) because I thought I was doing pretty well,” he said. “I actually wanted to be a fighter. I knew I had to step into that position right away in order to prove myself. I think my first game in Richmond I had a goal and a couple of fights (for the record, it was one goal and one fight vs. Columbus). I just loved the vibe from all the fans and stuff.” Did he ever. In 38 games, Sicard put up 13 points and 210 penalty minutes. It seemed like every time one turned around, Dennis was throwing down with an opponent. The fans loved it and he fed off the roar of the crowd. Dennis Sicard the tough guy was a hit. Although the adulation was great, it caused a problem for Sicard. The fighting was fine but he wanted to be known for being a player. “At times, I was looked upon just to always fight, which was upsetting to me because I knew I could play the game but my first year I knew I had to make a stand,” he said. “I had to show myself off and the only way I could really do that was fight.” He was invited back to Tulsa by Hodge at the start of the 2008-2009 season. Again, things just didn’t quite go Sicard’s way. His stay was longer, 27 games, but the numbers didn’t really improve as he tallied one goal and one assists to go along with 79 penalty minutes. When the struggling Oilers showed Hodge the door, Sicard took that as a sign and told the team he wanted out and they waived his rights. “The only reason I went back (to Tulsa) was him (Hodge). They fired him over the Christmas break and I just didn’t have any desire to be there,” Sicard said. “I knew exactly where that team was headed. I decided that I was going to leave and so they waived my rights.” That led to a return to Richmond where he dressed for 21 games. In that time, he had two goals, six assists and 63 penalty minutes. By February, the Renegades were looking to make some deals and Sicard became a casualty, being sent to Huntsville. Needless to say, Dennis was crushed by the news of the deal. “I don’t know what was going on with Richmond because they folded right after (the season). I don’t know why it was that I had to leave but they made the decision to trade me,” he said. “To me, it was heart breaking because I loved being there. I loved playing for the Renegades. It was like a dagger to the heart. I felt like family there.” He finished the year with the Havoc and then watched as then coach Eric Soltys was let go. In came Murphy following the demise of the CHL’s New Mexico Scorpions where he had been the head coach. He brought Sicard back but let the winger know that he was expected to do more than just fight. “Right away I thought I’d just be the fighter. I actually talked to him on the phone quite a bit. He let me know that (fighting) wasn’t just going to be my role,” Sicard said. “He said he wanted me to play on the power play and penalty kill which made me feel good. It gave me back that feeling like back in juniors when I did score some goals and stuff. It made me think I’d get my opportunity to do that. He told me that fighting wasn’t just going to be my role and he stood by that.” The opportunities have come and Sicard has made the most of them. So far in 37 games this season, he has registered pro career highs in goals (17), assists (11) and points (28). Those numbers include five power play scores and four game winners. He is tied for the team lead in goals with Mike MacDonald. Of course he has 169 penalty minutes and his share of fights along the way but the scoring is the story. When asked why all of a sudden he has become a serious scoring threat, Sicard said that mentally simplifying the game is a big key. “I think I’m just more comfortable on the ice. I’ve slowed my game down a bit,” he said. “I still skate fast, do the hitting and all that. I think mentally I’ve slowed my game down so I can be in position to actually get the shots off. I think my positional hockey has been a lot better and along with being comfortable you get confident so I think my confidence is up.” Sicard’s success has been a very pleasant surprise, especially for Murphy who had very little knowledge of what Sicard could do. “At the beginning of the year, it was pretty much the way it was going to have to be. He had to find that other aspect of his game, something that he could take pride in. We set a goal at the beginning of the year that he should get 20 goals by the end of the year,” Murphy said. “I didn’t know if it was doable or not having not seen him play but judging by what people had told me, I didn’t think there was any reason why he couldn’t have 20. Luckily for us he bought into what (assistant coach) Paul Snell and myself have been trying to teach him. It’s one thing to teach a guy but it’s another thing for the guy to try to apply it and be able to apply it and he has.” Needless to say, the conversation drifted back to fighting. When asked if there were any particular guys around the SPHL wars that he enjoyed going toe-to-toe with, Sicard had a few names in mind right away. “I respect pretty much every fighter I fight until they lose that respect. Luke Phillips knew his role and he played it very well. I actually enjoyed fighting him just because he wasn’t afraid to do anything. He just got in there and played his role,” Sicard said. “Guys like Dan Leslie. I always enjoy fighting them because he’s an enforcer in this league. He’s a big guy, a heavyweight, but he’s always been respectful in the way he fights. Guys like David Segal in Knoxville. I respect him because he keeps it pretty classy. Personally, as a fighter, I respect him because of what he does and the fact that he and I are pretty similar in the way we fight and off the ice I can talk to the guy.” Sicard is smart enough to know that if he is to fulfill his dream of moving up in the world of hockey, he has to adapt to its changes. “Like everyone else, I want to move up. I think for sure, starting to get points is going to help me because when I become a veteran, nobody is going to want a veteran that just fights,” he said. “I think it is helping my career because it’s going to last longer because they know I can actually do something else other than fight. I think it will allow me to get better chances with other teams at higher levels.” Hopefully that chance will come soon, before the enforcer goes the way of the dinosaurs. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com