Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Stay-at-home defencemen rarely get the accolades they deserve.
For MacEwan Griffins veteran Drew Nikirk that certainly rings true. He's not noticed, doesn't seek the attention and just goes about his business in a professional way.
The fourth-year blueliner's work is not measured on how many points he puts up – perhaps on the number of bruises instead – but for the record, he has two assists in 16 games this season.
"He's just kind of steady for us," said Griffins interim head coach Michael Ringrose. "He's able to defend effectively, kills penalties very well and chips in offensively but isn't flashy.
"He's just a part of the puzzle and sometimes those guys who just blend in, although they don't catch your eye, they're really important, steadying pieces for the success of the group."
Growing up in Invermere, B.C., where he played minor hockey until age 15, Nikirk had a very simple reason why he always played defence.
"I didn't have the hands – the puck-handling skills – for forward," he said with a chuckle.
"I'm just trying to do the little things right," he added. "Just to do the right things and help the team win."
And they are winning at a decent clip this season; currently the Griffins (13-7-0-0) are three points behind this weekend's opponent, Red Deer College (14-5-1-0), for second place in the Alberta College Athletic Conference standings. It will be a proverbial four-point weekend when the teams square off Friday (7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena) and Saturday (7 p.m., Red Deer).
Nikirk is part of one of the league's top D groups, joining the likes of last season's ACAC rookie of the year Tyler Morrison and current blueline points leader Stefan Danielson.
"It's fun. We have a little competition in practice, too, to see if you're going to be in the lineup on the weekend," he said. "It definitely pushes you to be better."
Nikirk is the second member of his family to play in the ACAC; sister Holly Nikirk played for the SAIT Trojans in 2012-13.
Drew Nikirk also provides a veteran presence. Part of former coach Bram Stephen's recruiting class in 2014 out of the Grande Prairie Storm (Alberta Junior Hockey League), he came in at a time when the program wasn't experiencing much success.
"Obviously he's a guy who's been with the program a while – this is his fourth year – so he's seen tremendous growth from where the program was when he arrived," said Ringrose. "There was a fairly large recruiting class that year of fourth-year guys that include guys like Dallas Smith and Ryan Baskerville and Taylor Bilyk.
"That group of fourth-year guys have really pushed the program to take strides forward. Four years ago, I don't think you could say it was an elite ACAC program, but through their hard work and dedication you've seen growth. Now we certainly believe we're in the upper echelon of the league."
The Griffins come into the weekend off a split against the NAIT Ooks, but the second game of the series certainly sticks in their craw – a 7-1 drubbing at NAIT Arena. That came a night after they handed the ACAC-leading Ooks just their second loss in regulation this season – a 4-1 win that might have been their best effort of the campaign.
The split revealed a new task for the Griffins to work on this weekend – how to respond well after you beat a team.
"It's easy to respond when you lose," said Ringrose. "You get angry and you're frustrated by the result. That can motivate you to be at your best the next opportunity you get.
"It's really important if we want to be an elite program is to understand how to win, too. I didn't think we handled that very well on Saturday night."
Also on the line against RDC this weekend is the season series should they end up tied in a tight race behind NAIT. The Griffins are in good shape in that regard, beating the Kings twice (and outscoring them 10-3) back in November. Still, they trail them by three points, so it's a big weekend if they hope to beat them for the first-round playoff bye that a second-place finish represents.
"In this league, it's so tight you need to have a short memory," said Ringrose. "Whether you win or lose, you have to park it and get ready for the next weekend. For us, we've got time after this weekend to revisit some things with our bye (on Feb 2-3), but we need to park everything and just get ready for what's going to be a huge four-point weekend."
