With NHL prospects, Joe Hicketts, Vladimir Tkachev offer reminder size only matters so much

Vladimir Tkachev, in most likelihood, will play his last NHL exhibition game with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday vening. Newly minted Detroit Red Wings signee Joe Hicketts is already back with the Victoria Royals, where he delivered a bit of brilliance for a nifty off-the-faceoff overtime winner this past weekend.

One is a Russian-born wing and the other a Canadian-born defenceman; one plays on the East Coast with the Quebec League's Moncton Wildcats and the other plays for a Western League team located on Vancouver Island. The common denominator, that people should heed, is that both are 5-foot-8 and were passed over 2014 NHL draft due in part to their smallish frames. Yet each has got more run in pro camps than much larger players who were handed a jersey this past June at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center.

On that point, the two combine to make the biggest junior story to come out of NHL camps, where everything else mostly happens as a matter of course. The 5-foot-8, 163-pound Tkachev might have stereotyped somewhat as an offensive dynamo, the type who thrives in the more wide-open junior game, last season when he joined the Wildcats in January (after making a strong impression with the Russian selects during Super Series in November). However, he's shown that regardless of his statue, he's actually a very all-aroound player who often helps turn pucks over and start counter-attacks, as Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal and Sportsnet found after tracking Tkachev during a preseason game.

Similarly, Hicketts' game resists the 'offensive defenceman' level that many might helpfully and reflexively affix to someone who is 5-foot-8 and 186 pounds. The 18-year-old has those qualities, but it is unlikely an NHl organization that seems to be as big-picture as the Red Wings would have rushed to sign a defensively suspect D-man.

Time will tell how it pans out for either player, but their progress in Moncton and Victoria will bear watching. Circumstances obviously played a part in why all 30 teams said 'pass' in June. Tkachev's season was split between Russia and North America. The QMJHL, with neither a Nathan MacKinnon nor a Jonathan Drouin on offer, was not a heavily scouted league in 2013-14, with only one NHL first-rounder, Nikolaj Ehlers (who remains with the Winnipeg Jets). It's understandable why teams would not be sold on a tiny Russian who played only 26 major junior games, although he scored 39 points.

Hicketts also dealt with injuries last season. However, as far dealing with info on a first-in basis goes, the Royal was a contributor for Canada at the preseason Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament. That could have counted for something.

For the most part, the news feed when it comes to junior-aged players at NHL camps is pretty predictable. For instance, one knew it was just a matter of when the Anaheim Ducks would send Nick Ritchie back to the Peterborough Petes. Most undrafted free agents will come back, too, so it's worth highlighting Hicketts and Tkachev for creating a compelling story.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.