On Rodwin Dionicio (5th Round, 129th Overall)
He moved to defense less than two seasons ago and had an unbelievable rise when he went from Hamilton to Windsor. He went from a relatively young team to an elite defensive team and he basically led that power play. He showed he's coachable. He's got unbelievable instincts. He's a great athlete. He's got some runway to get better defensively and we trust our coaches that, in the long run, they'll get that part of his game to come around.
Not Hamilton, Niagara. He played mostly well there but I don't think that shitshow of a franchise was very helpful for his development. Players like Dionicio need lots of love and guidance and I'm not sure that's what he got there.
With Dionicio, you get the full package. Mobile skater, elite passer, strong on pucks, heavy hitter, heavy shot, loves to fight. Can play any position since he only recently got converted from Center to Defenseman and was helping out as a winger in the OHL as well.
The problem is hockey IQ, inconsistency and that he's just extremely immature. This may sound funny for a guy able to play any position but it's the case. He improved a lot in Windsor, was great for them for stretches and played a great WJC20 as well. However, when he's not on, he takes lots of dumb penalties or does very dumb hits. Has a suspension history for dumb hits. I don't even think that he's dirty, it's just a lack of consistency leading him to do stupid stuff. He can play 10 clean games just to mess up the next three completely. That's especially true on defense with him taking penalties, stepping up when he's not supposed to, doing illegal/dangerous hits etc.
This kid can do it all but he's unlikely to ever reach his full potential. Should he get good coaching however, that could increase his chances significantly.