Hickey, who was traded to St Kilda last year after 12 games in two seasons, has impressed at his new club and is expected to feature against the Suns as ruck support for Ben McEvoy.
Midfielder Leigh Montagna said recruiting the 22-year-old had been a smart move, with his athleticism and versatility set to boost the club.
"Every year he's getting better and Gold Coast's loss is our gain," Montagna said on Monday.
"They've probably put a lot of work into him to develop his game and hopefully we get the benefits of that.
"He's been really impressive and his tap work is sensational. He's got nice deft touch and he can get up there nice and high.
"We're expecting him to play a lot of footy this year."
The Saints have relied on Jason Blake and Rhys Stanley to provide occasional ruck support in recent seasons, leaving McEvoy to spend long minutes on the ball.
Montagna said there would be clear benefits for McEvoy if Hickey plays as a genuine second ruckman.
"He (McEvoy) has basically been our only ruckman for the last two or three years and he's still developing and still getting better," Montagna said.
"Just having someone to chop out every now and then can freshen him up and he can even play down forward and take a catch as well.
"Having two ruckman just releases the burden (and) hopefully they can work really well in tandem."
Montagna won't be available fort the Saints' season opener as he serves a one-game suspension.
The 2009 All Australian said it was frustrating to face a delayed start to the season, but his absence presented opportunities for young players.
He singled out David Armitage and Jack Steven as players the club believed could take the next step in 2013 and become "elite midfielders".
"They've both had sensational pre-seasons and they're both in that 24-25 age bracket where they're really ready to break out," Montagna said.
"They took some big steps last year, probably didn't sustain it for the whole year, but we definitely expect them to this year.
"If they can really take a lot of the workload and relieve a bit of the pressure from Lenny (Hayes) and Nick (Dal Santo), we think it's probably going to be an improvement for the midfield.
"We expect them at some time this year to be getting tagged, we expect them to be going that well."
Montagna said defender Sam Fisher, who pulled up sore from the club's last NAB Cup match, had not been ruled out for Saturday night's trip to Metricon Stadium.
He said Stanley was in contention after freshening up over the weekend and it was "a matter of whether the club thinks he's done enough work to play round one".
The Saints will also be missing All Australian defender Sean Dempster, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Tom Hickey is a ruckman in NAB AFL Fantasy. He averaged 52.8 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub.
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
