Prospect Info: 2024 Draft (1/11): Sam Dickinson (D) | London Knights (OHL)

[weastern bias]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806477216810684448

I'm typically pretty adamant that young players are not leaders and should not have letters on their sweaters

I've changed my mind

 

[Jargon]

I'll copy paste what a London knights fan who has been reliable in the past wrote up

Sam Dickinson scouting report​

Congratulations on your team drafting left-shot defender Sam Dickinson. I’m a London Knights fan, and I wrote this scouting report based on my time watching him over the past two seasons.
Strengths: Dickinson has tremendous physical tools. He’s big, strong, and is a very, very strong skater both backwards and forwards. Unlike a lot of larger players, he is capable of really quick turns and great acceleration. With his skating stride, he was able to lead breakouts by himself at a high frequency, and did this with great success.
Defensively, he is very good positionally, and recovers well when caught in bad positions. He has a very strong stick, and was able to manhandle almost any OHLer in one on one battles for the puck. He’s very difficult to beat off the rush, as he has a long reach, and can skate with nearly every forward.
Offensively, he has good vision, but carried pucks out of his zone quite often, where others would be finding a pass. He has a very heavy shot, with both his wrister, and one-time shot beating goalies from distances, even without screens. Dickinson also has a calming presence on the puck most of the time, and his large frame buys himself the extra time to make plays. He stickhandles very well for a defenceman of his size, and can beat opposing defenders off the rush with his combination of size, speed and skill.
Weaknesses: Let me preface by saying that Dickinson has very few glaring holes in his game, and is thought of as one of the most well-rounded defensive prospects in the class. The criticisms below are improvements that I think he will likely make going forward
At times Dickinson tries to be a little bit too aggressive in threading passes through tighter areas. In particular, he tries backhand saucer passes more often than necessary, which got him into trouble a few times.
Dickinson’s breakout passing could also be improved, as he iced the puck fairly frequently. He sometimes passes the puck too hard for forwards to receive on his breakout passes in particular.
For a player his size, you would also expect Dickinson to be more intimidating in terms of body-checking. He simply chooses not to engage quite as often as a more prototypical big defender would, but does have success when he does go for body checks.
Summary: Dickinson is one of the most talented defenders I’ve seen play for London. In recent years, we’ve seen Logan Mailloux, Oliver Bonk, and Evan Bouchard (among others) come through the system. While Dickinson lacks the high-end dynamic offensive talent of Bouchard, I believe he is the best all-around player of the four, at this age.
What Dickinson did last year, as a rookie defenceman on London’s run to the OHL championship was very impressive. He was blasting powerplay goals as a 16 year old, which is incredibly rare.
This year, he was used in a more demanding defensive role, and he continued to excel. London had 4 potential NHL caliber defensive prospects (Dickinson, Bonk as well as Isaiah George and Jackson Edward), who all played major minutes, as London often did not use the third pair, particularly in the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Dickinson this year, he was not included in London’s record setting top power play unit, as London used an unorthodox setup with the only defender (Bonk) being used in the bumper position. (Note: this is where fellow Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen was destroying teams). This is the only reason Dickinson’s goal (and point) totals are not closer to Yakemchuk and Parekh. If Dickinson returns to London next year (which he should), I would expect more power play time, and higher point production as a result.
While Dickinson did benefit from being on an extremely strong London team this year, he was a standout player for them, and was (in my opinion) their best player in the Memorial Cup.
Projections: I believe Dickinson has a strong chance to be a top pairing defender that can be used in all situations. This is a safe pick, with a very low potential to not make an NHL impact. He should not be rushed to an NHL roster in year one, but should be ready within 1 or 2 years.
Player comparison: Duncan Keith, Aaron Ekblad, Jakob Chychrun

I love this scouting report. I mean, yeah, how do you pass up on a really high end skating 2-way 6’3 defenseman? That’s insanely alluring, I get it.

God this team is going to be fun eventually.

 

[ChompChomp]

To me, I don't think Sharks fans are going to be constantly comparing Big Dick to Zeev for all of time. We never thought Dickinson was going to be available at 11. Dickinson is everything we want in a dman, including size. Having slept on it, it's just so damn exciting to have Celebrini, Smith, Eklund and Dickinson as the top level core.

 

[Bizz]

I had Dickinson going 5th in my draft prediction, so getting him at 11 was a nice surprise.

 

[LadyStanley]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807066650791043473

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

I honestly didn’t give any thought to Dickinson as an option. I also definitely didn’t think he’d be available at 11. I thought he’d be gone along time ago before we picked again. The fact he made it to us is wild. I will admit, I thought the pick was gonna be Buium, but when I heard them say Dickinson I instantly was just as excited. Unreal value at #11 getting such an awesome talent for our defensive core.

Side note - Haltunnen will be a Shark. I’m thinking a sniper who can play up and down the lineup. Top 6 or Bottom 6, and he’ll be just as effective wherever he is imo. Chemistry with Dickinson a factor?

 

[LilLeeroy]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807066650791043473

Who would win in a fight Dickinson or Haltunnen?

 

[67 others]

I honestly didn’t give any thought to Dickinson as an option. I also definitely didn’t think he’d be available at 11. I thought he’d be gone along time ago before we picked again. The fact he made it to us is wild. I will admit, I thought the pick was gonna be Buium, but when I heard them say Dickinson I instantly was just as excited. Unreal value at #11 getting such an awesome talent for our defensive core.

Usually if you change pages, the site editor will have saved your pre-post so ot might still be there. Go back to page 1 of this thread and check to see if the comment write up reloads

 

[Sysreq]

I don't think this was a whose more skilled pick. I think it came do to who is a better fit for the team.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

Usually if you change pages, the site editor will have saved your pre-post so ot might still be there. Go back to page 1 of this thread and check to see if the comment write up reloads

I was bummed, then I went to write something new and saw that my post was actually posted and not erased. Thanks!

 

[willsy]

Watching offensive zone highlights and does he look like Brent Burns to anyone else? The way he shoots and moves when the puck is on his stick. If we can get a Brent Burns that can actually defend...huge W.

 

[The Nemesis]

Watching offensive zone highlights and does he look like Brent Burns to anyone else? The way he shoots and moves when the puck is on his stick. If we can get a Brent Burns that can actually defend...huge W.

Burns had an exceedingly rare, special level of offensive acumen from the blueline. I don't think Dickinson reaches that peak, but you trade some of that point production for defensive capability.

 

[pappaf2]

How has this meme not made it in here?

 

[Juxtaposer]

Watching offensive zone highlights and does he look like Brent Burns to anyone else? The way he shoots and moves when the puck is on his stick. If we can get a Brent Burns that can actually defend...huge W.

Doesn’t have Burns’ elite hands and the creativity isn’t quite there, but I kind actually don’t hate this comparison otherwise.

 

[Jargon]

Doesn’t have Burns’ elite hands and the creativity isn’t quite there, but I kind actually don’t hate this comparison otherwise.

Just coming out of a single draft with Brent Burns-lite and the 1C future of the franchise that’s “a mix of Crosby, Toews and Patrick Marleau” (I forgot where I read that but it stuck), nbd…

 

[fasterthanlight]

Ngl these interviews with the press are usually pretty vacuous. But here, I'm getting a good vibe from this kid

 

[matt trick]

He's definitely got some personality. Really, really excited to have Dickinson on the squad. His skating mechanics are divine.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Okay, @willsy ’s Brent Burns comp is kinda worming its way into my head. Watch this highlight reel and tell me you haven’t seen Brent Burns make identical plays over the years:



The shot, both the velocity/accuracy and the ability to get it off quickly, is very Burns-like. The size and speed and ability to lead the rush are very Burns-like. The quick and accurate net-front passes are very Burns-like. The home run stretch passes that sometimes become turnovers and icings are very Burns-like.

The d-zone is kinda similar too, decent position most of the time that is someone mitigated by huge wingspan, ability to recover from mistakes because of strength and agility, and occasional starfish are very familiar to me too.

Still think Burns was more creative in his playmaking and Dickinson will never be a top tier dangler like Burns was, but there are some really strong echoes.

 

[LadyStanley]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806931813862199739

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806934367450931466

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806893045427867913

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806452271653228955

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806847810069029179

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806387016818417987

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805052401256165480

 

[timorous me]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806931813862199739

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806934367450931466

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806893045427867913

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806452271653228955

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806847810069029179

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806387016818417987

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805052401256165480

I feel like Dickinson reminds me of a character from a TV show or movie: the jock who's unrealistically athletic, handsome, and charming, who's universally liked by both the cool kids and the geeks.

It's not supposed to work this way in real life!

 

[Timo Time]

This kids personality alone makes him a damn gem. With his talent, I hope he's here for years.

 

[Jargon]

He really does feel like a lead character in a hockey sitcom. Again, really loving this fun cast of guys Grier is getting - Eklund, Dickinson, Celebrini seems like a good kid, etc.

 

[The Nemesis]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806931813862199739

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806934367450931466

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806893045427867913

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806452271653228955

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806847810069029179

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806387016818417987

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805052401256165480

Don't tease me with that Byram comp.

 

[The Nemesis]

He really does feel like a lead character in a hockey sitcom. Again, really loving this fun cast of guys Grier is getting - Eklund, Dickinson, Celebrini seems like a good kid, etc.

"And starring Joe Thornton as 'Shirtless Uncle Joe'..."

 

[Jargon]

"And starring Joe Thornton as 'Shirtless Uncle Joe'..."

Joe is like the character that constantly pops up even though he supposedly retired. There’s rumors that he possibly lives in the practice facility…