Kamloops goalie named NCAA Most Outstanding Player, leads team to national championship

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for Johnny Hicks. 

The 20-year-old freshman from Kamloops, B.C., went from the third-string goaltender for the University of Denver Pioneers, to NCAA Most Outstanding Player in less than three months, breaking the league’s single-season save percentage record. 

Now, he and his team have won the national championship — the 11th for the Pioneers. 

“It’s pretty awesome to do it with this group and to win the national championship,” Hicks told CBC’s Daybreak Kamloops. “It’s just been an amazing experience and I haven’t taken anything for granted.”

Before the Pioneers, Hicks played for the Merritt Centennials in the British Columbia Hockey League, the Brooks Bandits in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Victoria Royals in the Western Hockey League, all before he turned 20. 

He spoke with CBC’s Doug Herbert following the team’s big win. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

You went undefeated in the playoffs, breaking the NCAA single-season save percentage record, 22 goals on 514 shots. You are a brick wall. What do you attribute that to?

The team has a huge part of that, the goalie coach we have here, the players we have here shooting on me every single day, and the other goalies helping us get better.

It’s a mix of a lot of different factors and this whole program is the reason for that. And I’m just very grateful to be here, and try and carry on this legacy that this program has. 

What led you to become the starting goalie on the team back in January?

I’m not too sure what that answer is. I think it just comes down to my process and doing what I can do every single day to get better.

I started this year as a third-string and I tried not to let that affect me too much and just focused on myself and staying positive every day, not knocking down on myself and being a great teammate. 

Before you got there, you played in the BCHL and the AJHL, as well as in the WHL with the Victoria Royals. What inspired you to move into the NCAA?

I was always pretty focused on the NCAA while playing in the BCHL. When the WHL chance happened, I just happened to be lucky enough to be able to play in that league because … Victoria reached out. It was a hard opportunity to pass up — I grew up vacationing there.

The NCAA is just something that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a great path for players who may be late bloomers or want the older, stronger route going into pro hockey. It’s an amazing feeder league into pro hockey. 

Now you’ve got at least three more seasons at the University of Denver. What are some of the goals you have for yourself? Is it the NHL?

Yeah, I think that would be the end goal. I think that’s going to be something that could happen by focusing on my process and focusing on just one moment at a time with this group of players. I just really want to enjoy my experience here because it’s been amazing so far and I love everyone here.

You’re far from home, but you actually have a teammate from Kamloops.

Yeah. Brady Milburn’s here. He’s awesome. I love him. We grew up playing together since I was five or six years old, so we have a lot of history playing together.

To be playing with him today at this level, it’s just unbelievable. I’m looking forward to me and him being on the same team moving forward. 

How did you and the rest of the Pioneers celebrate your big championship win? 

We rented out a rooftop restaurant in Las Vegas. All of our families were there and it was just an amazing experience. The sun was setting. You can see the whole skyline of Vegas and the whole strip from there. It was awesome.

Do you get to come home this summer before going back to play more hockey? 

Yes, I think I’ll get to go home for a bit. I’m not too sure what the plan is. We haven’t really talked about it. We’re more so just in the moment as a team, celebrating and just being as a group right now.