After a successful youth hockey career that included time with the Arapahoe Warriors, Littleton Hawks and Chaparral High School, Aidan Wicker is heading east for junior hockey.

Earlier this offseason, the Parker native signed to play for the EHL’s Railers Jr. Hockey Club in Worcester, Mass. There, he’ll join former Colorado teammate Jaymin Rolfe.

“A previous coach at Littleton was able to get me in communication with the Worcester coach and things just went from there,” Wicker said. “Jaymin and I have played together since we were U8s, Squirt A, and Pee Wee AA until Jaymin made the switch to Littleton, and I followed him the next year where we then ended up playing 14U AA together. The next year, I was hurt during tryouts and was put on the 15s team where I competed against Jaymin on the 16s team all the way to the state championship game, where we lost to our own 16s team and Jaymin, 2-1.

“This past season playing with Jaymin, I was really able to see how well our chemistry has evolved playing together as well as against each other. I was able finish top three in points with Jaymin on the team and I think I was able to connect with this past team more than any other before. Playing 18U hockey was definitely way different than even 16U just because of the intensity, especially with Littleton playing in the competitive showcases and the very good CSDHL league.

Wicker said he was drawn to the Railers for a number of reasons.

“Worcester played a good season last year, so I was pretty intrigued by that, but I also was able to get into contact with some of the previous players from the Worcester coach and they had very good things to say about the association,” said Wicker. “For example, we get all of the pro team’s ECHL trainers and the players get to pick who we want to room with.

“Playing NCAA has been a dream of mine for a long time and the EHL was very appealing to me because of that. Also, I felt in my opinion that the EHL was the most competitive Tier III junior league and I always want to push myself to the highest level.”

Growing up, Wicker skated for Arapahoe from Squirts to first-year Bantams and Littleton from Bantam to Midget Major. He also played varsity hockey with Chaparral his senior year.

“Brian Ten Eyck and Jason Gour from Littleton were by far my favorite coaches and the most influential to me not only in hockey but in my personal life as well,” said Wicker. “I was able to play for Jason my 15s year when he picked me without seeing me play. I ended up finishing on the first line and decided to play for him the next year for the 16s because of his coaching style. Coach Tint was always an influence playing for Littleton. He would show up to skates to help even when I was on the 14s. I found my way on to his team 18s year where he quickly became one of my favorite coaches as well. He knows the game, and he knows how to coach players to have fun playing it.”

Moving ahead, Wicker has established attainable milestones he feels he can reach.

“My short-term goals are to have as much fun with playing the sport of hockey for as long as I am able to,” said Wicker. “My long-term goal is to play the highest level of hockey I can.”

Photo/Julianne Ballantine

— Matt Mackinder

(July 8, 2022)