It’s Tommy Nixon week, so it only makes sense that he would be our Flashback Friday selection!
Nixon was a key part of this team both on and off the ice.
On the ice, his first season with the Crusaders was a busy one with him playing 43 out of the 60 games. In those 43 games, Nixon grabbed himself the W 21 times whilst having a goals against of 3.28. That same year, the Crusaders netminder was called upon to play for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. Team Canada West finished first in Group B with victories over both Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The team fell in the semifinals against Team Russia 5-2 meaning they would face Team Switzerland in the bronze medal game. Canada West ended up winning that game 5-3. Once Nixon returned to the Crusaders and their season was over, his season got capped off by being named in the AJHL (North) All-Rookie Team.
Coming into year two, Nixon was an established number one netminder in the AJHL and one of the better ones in Western Canada. He earned himself another call up to Team Canada West to partake in the World Junior A Challenge for the second year in a row. Unfortunately for Nixon and Canada West, the team couldn’t find the form they had the year before which earned them bronze but instead finished 6th in the competition. To add more salt in the wound, Nixon picked up a thumb injury at the tournament forcing him to miss the remained of the season. Due to the injury, he only played in 19 regular season games, all before playing for Team Canada West, and in those 19 games, a held a 2.23 GAA with a save percentage of .923. Nixon did make it back for the playoffs where he played in six games before the Cru were knocked out in six by the Spruce Grove Saints. At the end of season awards, Tommy Nixon was selected to be in the AJHL North Division all-star team.
The former Crusader didn’t just represent Team Canada on skates but also inline. In 2013, he was called up to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Inline Hockey Championship, eventually winning bronze. The next year, Nixon was selected again, this time he got even close to gold, unfortunately, lost in the gold medal game to Team Finland.
Back to the ice, after the 2014 season, Nixon moved on to play for the Holy Cross Crusaders. Since joining Holy Cross, he’s played in six games and was named the goalie of the week during his freshman season. Nixon was also named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team.
We are proud to say that Tommy Nixon is a member of our alumni. He was exceptional individual both on and off the and we wish him the best of luck for the future.