Stewie Griffin
What the deuce
Not at all. He's just a very safe pick. I wouldn't love it but also wouldn't be mad if SJ took him at 2.
LD Sam Dickinson - London Knights, OHL (2024, 11th, SJ)
- Thread starter LeProspector
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Guadana
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Chicago and Anaheim looks like a teams that needs in RD, may be if Ducks are the third after lottery, they will draft Dickinson, if Ducks will take Levshunov. It doesn't look like Ducks have big need in Lindstrom.
Korchinski and Kaiser are lefties, but if Ducks will take Levshunov, I think there is a chance BH will draft Dickinson. But Lindstrom looks more realistic.
Blue jackets needs center, so I think they will draft Catton.
But if Dickinson is still available Ottawa looks like a team to draft Dickinson in this situation.
So I think it will be Ducks by third pick(not earlier) or Senators by fifth.
I don't think there is a team to draft him by second. May be only San Jose but they are still have bigger need in right defenseman and more forwards with upside.
Korchinski and Kaiser are lefties, but if Ducks will take Levshunov, I think there is a chance BH will draft Dickinson. But Lindstrom looks more realistic.
Blue jackets needs center, so I think they will draft Catton.
But if Dickinson is still available Ottawa looks like a team to draft Dickinson in this situation.
So I think it will be Ducks by third pick(not earlier) or Senators by fifth.
I don't think there is a team to draft him by second. May be only San Jose but they are still have bigger need in right defenseman and more forwards with upside.
Stewie Griffin
What the deuce
The one problem with a mindset like this is sure, Dickinson doesn't fill the biggest need for any organization of the top of your head, but I think he will be the best LHD or maybe even defense prospect in general by any team that took him.
Using the team you reference;
Anaheim has Mintyukov and Zellwegger on the left, but Dickinson is much more defensive.
Chicago has Korchinski, but Dickinson is way better than Kaiser, and would stabilize that left side moving forward.
Any team would be happy to add a capable 20+min per game defensive stout. Hence why Silayev is also ranked so high.
Guadana
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I understand and agree with the concept and I think he should be the first LD from the draft, but as you mentioned Ducks still have Zellweger and Mintyukov. Levshunov isn't as polished and I like Dickinson more(much more, I would prefer to draft him over Levshunov and especially over Parekh and Yakemchuk), but still he isn't as dynamic as Levshunov, Levshunov is big with good skating and, more importantly, right defenseman.
Chicago looks more realistic, but mostly have Bedard, Moore, Nazar and Reichel on the top. Their defensive line doesn't look really good, but still RD is bigger need. And Lindstrom looks very attractive for them.
So I still think that 3rd or later(and not by jackets).
So I still think
Stewie Griffin
What the deuce
Mintyukov, Zellwegger, Levshunov, and Yakemchuk are all (capable two way guys but) mainly offensively focused defenseman. Yes it is true they need a right handed guy (as do most teams in the league) but you can't have your entire blueline with the same archetype.
Look at the trade rumours every day/year, teams want the steady two-way/defensive defenseman much more than the offensive ones. I still have Levshunov as my 2nd overall, but I understand why Dickinson could go above him.
Guadana
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In the same time they are drafting right defensemen as high as they can. Because the price is huge. Damon Severson signed 6.5 mil deal for 8 years. And he is just a good second pair guy.
So I think Ducks will prefer to draft Levshunov over Dickinson. Especially with their defensive pool. Even if they are more offensive oriented. I think Ducks should like what Levshunov will bring. And they can think that their development of defensemen is good enough to teach him how to defend.
Personally I would draft Dickinson higher than Levshunov in a vacuum situation. But its me, and Ducks are in specific situation with specific players in the prospect pool and in the roster.
Levshunov is #7/8 on my list.
PlayersLtd
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It's unlikely the SENS take a LD considering Levshunov, Silayev and Parekh are all projected top ten and RD is such a glaring need.
rt
Clean Hits on Substack
I’ve got him 9th on my list but if Arizona (my favorite team) won the 2nd pick and selected Dickinson, I wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed. It’s a really tight bunch of players from 2nd to 10th, or so.
I can see Dickinson potentially being that player that slips despite being the second, third or fourth favorite guy for a lot of clubs. They'll all want Dickinson but have someone else they're wild about.
That and as you were discussing, LD could be significantly more crowded for several teams in a row. Don't forget Vlasic in Chicago, who I hear has shown some promise as a shutdown defender.
Clubs are indeed chronically short on strong defenders but many of them have the idea that the top 10 of the draft is not the best place to get them. Maybe that's not really true though, looking at how high Silayev has placed in Mckenzie's list.
Silayev is also LD.
Looking at Ottawa's needs for strong defenders, I don't think a wild offensive D like Parekh would be what they're looking for. Levshunov is also quite raw and messy but has the size that I think might appeal in Ottawa. Yakemchuk is another big RD, who if you believe Pronman, will get picked high. I think he should. But he's a total cowboy, I'm not sure if that will interest Ottawa, which already has plenty of talent but not enough substance.
I actually could see Dickinson being appealing to Ottawa for that reason, but you might need an exit plan with Chabot to make room. By my eye, Dickinson should be ready soon.
Guadana
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Silayev is left handed. I don't know may be something changed but Parekh isn't the type of defenseman Ottawa like to draft. May be and hope I'm wrong. Levshunov should be drafted higher. Anyway will see. I'm not 100% sure. But Dickinson is a two at defenseman with very good positional defensive game. Looks like it is what sens need more than what Parekh is. Sens like to draft big and not Russians in the first round.
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rt
Clean Hits on Substack
Guadana
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PlayersLtd
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Left hand but plays the right side, which for what it is worth I don't consider a perfect fit. Agreed with Parekh although his ceiling is so tantalizing that perhaps the new guard in Ottawa takes that approach.
The SENS issue on left side vs right side is so acute and has been since EK left and we have Sanderson, Chabot (signed through 28-29) and Kleven as the future on the left side. I just don't see them passing up on a RD in what is a RD heavy draft. Then again there is always BPA and maybe that is Dickinson or a forward so yeah, very possible they go a different route if Levshunov is the only RD they covet in the top ten and he is off the board. We shall see.
Guadana
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About left side heavy defense you mentioned valid point. I forgot about Kleven. Yakemchuk and Parekh(he doesn't look like what sens like and need) should be available, or even Levshunov(I really wait Ducks to draft him).
So if not Dickinson and they takes not Demidov, its interesting to see how Arizona will act. Because I don't think Montreal will take Dickinson or defenseman overall. So it should make him available for Devils pick and I would be happy for him or for Buium no matter who will be Fitz's pick.
rt
Clean Hits on Substack
Never can predict how AZ will draft. And they lie like crazy in the media before the draft, too. Last draft they were talking about how excited they were to get a shot at these kids they watched at the U18s. These leaders on their teams and he basically described Leonard. Later he described Dvorsky. Yet, when the behind the scenes came out, they were obviously targeting both Russians all along. They knew in advance what the plan was and talked up all kinds of other plays in the media.
Guadana
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Sergei Shirokov
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Dickinson would make alot of sense for Chicago imo. He'll be a more reliable player than Korchinski, and take the pressure off him. They are at the point of adding players they can count on being core pieces & he's as close as you'll get to being a lock imo.
Arizona too, I think that team just needs to add pillars, and he'd fit. Honestly I can see the position argument with Anaheim & Ottawa, but not too much beyond that, he's a good bet to be really good & most teams could use a player like him in their pipeline.
Going back to the last page & the Bouwmesster comp, he probably doesn't skate as well but it makes some sense. Bouwmesster turned into more of a matchup guy than an offensive dynamo & that's going to be Dickinson's role imo. Though offensively I'll say his shot is sneaky good. Won't be any kind of dynamo but he'll score some goals with his shot & (underrated) willingness to get involved.
Chicago has 6 LD prospects that look to be able to slot some where in the top 7 we either need RD or Top 6 forwards. KK looks to 2LD right now. Vlasic has been outstanding. looks to be a 1LD maybe not a #1 but a #2 6-6 can skate and is one of the best break out passers we have, hopefully his Off will come
Sens of Anarchy
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The glaring need needs to be taken care of via trade or free agency. We should not look at any of these prospects to fill that glaring need. Many are raw an will need time including Levshunov who is likely the 1st RD off the board. If thy see Dickinson or Silayev above the others available to them I have no issue with them taking a LD . They have 1 LD that can defend currently. They have a need there as well. I think we will want to upgrade most of the current D corps.
Parekh .. Is a player a team is going to take and hope he is the next great offensive defenseman. If he becomes that , every team will wish they drafted him.
I would not go Yakemchuk or Parekh over Dickinson or Silayev. I really like Parekh and think he could be an amazing player. I have only seen Silayev play LD.
If they take a LD early Sens can look for a RD late in the 1st
Jiricek
Elick
Emery
Badinka
or early 2nd
Kleber
Roberts
Gill
They don't have a 3rd and all of these will be gone by the 4th.
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PlayersLtd
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You will be hard pressed to fill your long term needs through free agency and to do it via the trade market assumes risk, risk that you will end up on the losing end of a trade because win / win trades are rare. It is an inefficient way to build a winner, the trade market and FA are contingency plans, they are supplementary to proficient amateur scouting and drafting.
Good GM's engineer their teams through the draft. They draft in a balanced way that covers most or all bases as effectively as your scouting will allow. That doesn't mean I don't believe in BPA. If we are drafting 1OA Ottawa is not taking Levnushov over Celebrini. But it we are picking at 4 and Levnushov is still on the board along with Dickinson, you can bet that Steve Staios is going to give Levnushov a few extra points due to team need and existing team surpluses. With every pick BPA becomes more and more subjective by a factor of X and team needs become a bigger and bigger consideration.
All that said I would not take Parekh over Dickinson, not even close and I didnt mean to insinuate that. What I meant is that considering the glut of RD in the top 10 or so of this draft I would expect SS to be targeting a RD with our pick unless A/ we win the lottery or B, Levnushov and Silayev go top 5 and we are picking around 6/7. I would not be taking Parekh (or Yakemchuk) in the top 7.
At the end of the day Ottawa has young forwards that more or less cover the key bases- goal scorers, centre depth, physicality etc... We've drafted well in net and have two prospects with potential. And our biggest strength on our young roster is likely LD with Sanderson, Kleven and a 'veteran' in Chabot (or Chychrun). It isn't debatable that our biggest need is RD and we have had one good one through the draft in nearly 15 years and that fact is now haunting the team. If we aren't looking to address it this year in the draft considering how hard it is to acquire by other means, I would say SS is making a mistake in how he is engineering the roster for the future.
Someone should let the GMs of Vegas, Florida, and Colorado know that they're doing it wrong. There's only a handful of players they drafted on each of those clubs. Actually for Florida it is just two (Barkov and Lundell).
Ottawa needs RD but it also needs strong stable defenders who have consistency to their game. You won't find that in Levshunov or Parekh or Yakemchuk (though I personally would take Yak very high). That's a need you probably should fill by acquiring veterans who have already established that they have that ability. An upcoming UFA like Matt Roy or Dillion DeMelo would have it covered.
And as it happens, Sam Dickinson has that ability to easily hold off pressure and skate the puck out of trouble. I think he'd be a great choice for Ottawa, along with acquiring a veteran RD.
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I'd take Colorado off that list... Most major pieces were drafted very high and built around, and non-drafted major pieces were traded for using extremely good drafted pieces (Mittlestadt for Byram is just the latest example).
Anyway, Dickinson more and more strikes me as the "quietly very important for a winning team" type. He doesn't have questionable enough decision making to be really scary on a downside, and the skating/mobility, positioning, breakouts, athleticism, and shot all look like a solid if unspectacular components that have glints of "it all came together" potential.
This thread has turned a bit into "what does Ottawa need" which I'm not qualified to comment on, but Dickinson does seem like the kind of player that will quietly backstop a solid team even if you look back at 2024 and say "oh my god I can't believe they didn't take XYZ at [3 to 8]."
It's Mackinnon, Makar, and Rantanen. Those are the three drafted players on their roster. Make it four if you count Landy.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try and get stars in the draft (far from it!), I'm saying that you don't necessarily need to "cover your bases" through the draft. Colorado certainly hasn't covered their bases in the draft, they've used trade and FA for all but three roster spots.
PlayersLtd
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Vegas is an exception because of how McPhee worked the expansion draft but ironically time is running out and his poor drafting since appears to be catching up with them. Florida hasn't won anything. Colorado's core was largely drafted including arguably the two best players at their position in the NHL, which is precisely what I mean about engineering a team with proficiency.
I didn't say teams don't trade or work FA. I said this is a secondary play when drafting is less than 100% proficient. A team built with 100% efficiency would be entirely assembled through the draft and this should be the goal of every team at every draft. It's in fact the whole point when running a franchise. The job gets harder and harder the less efficiently you draft.
edit- not only McPhee's bad drafting.
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