The Houston SaberCats signed Nik Hildebrand for the 2021 season according to the Houston SaberCats podcast the Cats Chronicles. The 25-year-old prop is 6’1″ (186 cm) and 265 lbs (120 kg). Although he plays loosehead, he also is comfortable at tighthead as well.
Nik signed with the SaberCats for the 2020 MLR season, however, his visa was approved the day that the league announced it was ending the season due to COVID-19.
He is from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, and attended Shawnigan Lake School. While in 10th grade, he played rugby for the British Columbia U18s and U19s. He also played basketball and hockey in high school before graduating in 2013.
Nik then spent a year at Cardiff University and played rugby on their first XV. He then returned to Canada and was part of the Canada U20 trials, but was not selected for the final squad. He then played Junior football for Victoria Island Raiders before joining Burnaby Rugby Football Club in 2016 where he played in the BC Premier League, as well as for the BC Bears in the Summer.
In 2017 he traveled to Auckland, New Zealand, and played for the College Rifles. He then returned to Ireland, and his Irish mother’s roots to play for Garryowen and won the Munster Cup.
In 2018 he returned to play for Burnaby, as well as the BC Bears during the Summer. In the 2019-2020 season, he played for the Rugby Canada Academy side, the Pacific Pride, and will join the Houston SaberCats in November ahead of the 2021 MLR season.
