If you need someone to skate into an open lane or shoot in an open shooting lane, Dickinson is terrific. He can confidently take a man defensively as well. He has polished one on one technique. It's when things get more complicated that his play reads aren't very good. NHL tactics will put him in a lot of situations that are not to his strengths.
In my limited viewings I haven't got the impression that his overall hockey IQ or reads in the game are very concerning, it is just the decision-making with the puck that really sometimes bothers me. Defensive reads are very good imo. His off-puck game offensively is also impressive, it seems he knows when to jump on the play to support offense.
I think improving his scanning habits with the puck and adding subtlety to his passes could really help in his development to become something more than a defense-first 2nd/3rd pair defender at the next level. I think right now he tends to put too much mustard on his outlet passes and clearing attempts out of the zone, and in all zones with the puck he usually fully commits for the first play option he sees in front of him, he seems to lack vision and patience that some players with great offensive instincts have.
I'll try to demonstrate my points by taking samples from the 3rd period of Mem cup final.
1:48:08 -- I guess his idea there is to fire puck to an area in the offensive zone where the high forward Halttunen would get first and beat the icing call but it isn't even close to working out the way he hoped. There obviously would have been better play options.
1:58:00 -- his rush eventually leads to a goal for London but he makes kind of a needless blind pass to net front, there is no one there, he could've circled around the net and do less riskier pass to Cowan from the same side or found someone in the middle.
2:06:10 -- the weak side defenseman is open for a d2d pass but Dickinson decides to saucer it to forward at defensive blueline that could have been intercepted by #48 in white. That's a high-risk low-reward play imo.
2:07:15 -- not a very gentle nor accurate outlet pass lol.
2:10:42 -- that would have been the time to go for a safe cross-ice pass to Halttunen with a little deception, but no, instead it's up the boards to an already covered McCue who turns it over.
2:12:40 -- strange and rushed decision, I have no idea what he's trying to accomplish there.
2:12:53 -- another rough moment in the same shift, it's a 4-on-2 situation for London in d zone and he almost manages to turn it over.
2:16:40 -- not an ideal time to make that unforced error given the context.
