by Kevin Boryczki
Growing up, every kid dreams of playing in front of his hometown fans.
Providence Bruins forward Eric Nickulas grew up in Hyannis, Mass., a town on Cape Cod less than 70 miles from Boston and Providence.
In June of 1994, Nickulas was selected in the fourth round of the NHL draft by
“I grew up a Boston Bruins fan, so it was great to be drafted by their organization,” said Nickulas. “It was also great knowing I would be playing close enough to home where my friends and family could come and watch.”
All throughout his career Nickulas has been fortunate enough to stay close to home. For three seasons from 1994-97 Nickulas attended college at UNH, posting 113 points (70g, 43a) in 106 games. In 1997 for one of the few times in his career Nickulas headed away from home to
“It wasn’t my first time away from, so that didn’t worry me,” said Nickulas. “I was more concerned about the transition from the college game to the pros and how I was going to adjust.”
It was not long before he returned to his backyard. For the next three seasons Nickulas split time between the
“I made my debut with
Following the 2000-01 season Nickulas was signed by
After leaving the northeast for just over two years and
Heading into this weekend Nickulas is 14th on the P-Bruins’ all-time list in scoring, seventh in goals, fifth in power play goals and leads all Bruins in game winning goals with 13. His all-time P-Bruins playoff numbers are even more impressive. In 42 playoff games the right wing has 42 points (14g, 19a) and 77 PIM. Nickulas ranks eighth in game winning goals, fifth in PIM, fourth in assists, third in points and second in goals and power play goals.
After this season he looks to lead most of those categories, while bringing the Calder Cup back to