By now, you all know that Red Wings defensive Joe Hicketts and Team Canada are on their way back home after a gutting loss to Finland on Saturday afternoon. Following a 3-2 win over Switzerland on Tuesday, Hicketts was selected (at random) by the IIHF for a doping test. According to an article on Sportsnet’s website, the Red Wings prospect was held up for over an hour with a little bit of… Technical difficulty:
Unfortunately for Hicketts, it took him over an hour to get the job done.
“I got tested in Victoria in the Western League two years ago and I was able to go right away and I kind of thought I’d be able to do the same thing the other day,” said Hicketts on Friday. “You have to pee I think about 100 millilitres and I was short about 10.”
“Four litres of water and about an hour later and I was finally finished.”
For clarification, 100 milliliters comes out to around 3.39 US fluid ounces. Doesn’t seem like very much, but when you’re talking a random “hey come in here and pee in this cup right now,” I suppose even a little could be considered a lot. The test performed wasn’t due to any speculation that Hicketts had been doping, it was more of just a standard procedure by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF.) There’s no question about Hicketts’ compete level, but now we all have to question his com-PEE-te level.
Hicketts was a top-performer for Team Canada in the WJC, putting up one goal and three assists in the fives games played. It was quite clear that Hicketts was the best defensemen on the entire team, regardless of his pint-sized frame. Hicketts will return to his CHL team, the Victoria Royals, and finish out his final season of junior-level hockey before making the move to the professional level next season.
