Sam Dickinson
2024 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: D, Shoots: L
H/W: 6’3”, 195lbs
Date of Birth: 2006-06-07
In a draft year filled with several high end blueline prospects, Dickinson stands out for his consistent play this year for the London Knights, who are in the midst of another Divisional winning season in the OHL. A former high pick of the Niagara IceDogs (who traded Dickinson to London), he’s done nothing but impress since stepping foot in the league. Dickinson was also a standout for Team Canada at last summer’s Hlinka/Gretzky Cup, serving as an alternate captain while playing key minutes.
The foundation of Dickinson’s game is his mobility. It’s rare to find a defender who moves as well as Dickinson does at 6’3. It was no surprise to see him dominate the on-ice testing at the CHL Top Prospect’s Game; he’s a spectacular athlete. Thanks to his effortless skating stride, Dickinson is an impactful player at both ends of the ice and is able to play aggressively, with and without the puck.
What is sure to impress scouts is his composure with the puck under pressure. Dickinson is a breakout machine who rarely gets hemmed in the defensive end at the OHL level. His scanning habits are terrific and because of his skating ability, he’s able to evade pressure consistently, quickly moving the puck up ice, either with an accurate outlet pass or with his feet. His booming shot also makes him a strong powerplay triggerman, while his excellent gap control and strong stick play make him an asset in the defensive end.
From an upside perspective, Dickinson is a potential long time top three defender for an NHL franchise; the kind of blueliner who can play in all situations and eat serious minutes. He may not have the offensive upside of guys like Zayne Parekh or Artyom Levshunov. He may not have the defensive upside of behemoth Anton Silayev. However, because of his well-rounded profile, in combination with his size and mobility, Dickinson is about as safe a bet as there is in the 2024 Draft. For that reason, he is almost assured of being a top ten selection, although we have him in contention to be the top defender selected. It is very likely that he could play in the NHL next year for whatever team selects him, especially if he is able to bulk up this summer.
Skating
Let’s let Dickinson’s performance at the CHL Top Prospect’s Game testing do the talking to start. He was first in 30M forward skating with the puck, third in 30M backwards skating without the puck, but first with the puck, and second in transitional ability. I remember watching Dickinson at the beginning of his U16 year with the Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) and thinking that he could play in the OHL then as a 15-year-old because his skating was that good.
There’s just such an effortlessness to his stride. It’s similar to Jamie Drysdale in that regard. However, he’s got more length and power than Drysdale did and that makes him so dangerous in transition. Dickinson loves to skate with the puck and is aggressive in leading the attack. However, he’s even more dangerous without the puck, as he looks to utilize his speed to jump up in the play and this consistently catches defenders puck watching or flat footed. He builds to top speed in only a few strides, and he doesn’t lose speed through directional changes, making him tough to pin down in the neutral zone. He’s not the world’s most blessed puckhandler, but he doesn’t need to be with how well he blends his skating with his ability to protect the puck.
Dickinson’s transitional stride is also effortless as he switches from backwards to forwards stride to retrieve pucks. He takes really great routes to retrievals and rarely gets pinned because of it. He also pivots and uses c-cuts so effortlessly to help him evade pressure. The only negative I’d have is more application based. For how mobile Dickinson is, he rarely utilizes this as a powerplay quarterback. I’d love to see him use his lateral quickness and agility to try to evade pressure to work inside, helping to draw attention and open up passing or shooting lanes. He is more of a triggerman who looks to one time pucks or rifle off quick snap shots, or he rotates down low and gets to the net or half wall area. Layering in more deception as a point man would make me believe that his offensive upside is higher than I currently do.
Look at how quickly Dickinson builds speed here. Literally gets to top speed in one or two strides and then it’s off to the races.
Dickinson alters direction without breaking stride or losing speed, helping him to gain the zone and set up a quality scoring chance.
Dickinson out here breaking ankles. The quick direction change without losing speed causes the Ottawa forechecker to fall to his knees. Then he gains the offensive zone with ease.
Love this clip because it shows a few things. Firstly, we see Dickinson’s aggressive mentality offensively. Secondly, we see how explosive he is as a skater. Thirdly, we see one of his aforementioned self passes that allows him to cleanly gain the offensive zone.
A subtle play, but impressive. Look at the quick pace change by Dickinson that allows him to squeeze behind the Windsor defender. He’s so strong on his skates too, as he plays through the contact and looks to set up a play in the slot.
Dickinson’s strong skating mechanics allow him to be everywhere on the ice defensively. First, he’s able to adapt to a bad bounce because of his transitional agility and blocks two shots. Then he rotates to cover the point and applies pressure to a point shot with a quick burst and his length.
Grade: 60
Shot
Outside of his skating ability, Dickinson’s second-best asset as an offensive player is his shot. He can really rifle it. He has terrific shooting posture and habits. He one times pucks cleanly because he gets his feet moving into the shot. He also routinely gets himself those open looks by sliding into open space while being ready for those return passes he can get off his stick quickly. As a powerplay quarterback, Dickinson is a lethal weapon as a triggerman; his shots find the back of the net, or they generate second chance opportunities.
However, Dickinson also has other tricks in his basket. He shows a strong wrist shot that he uses when he jumps up in the attack; it’s his primary weapon as a transitional player. It has significant velocity, and he places it well. Dickinson also has a quick snapshot that he uses to get pucks on net quickly under pressure at the point. Those help to generate second chances or redirections.
Dickinson go boom.
Dickinson go boom again.
From the Hlinka/Gretzky, we see Dickinson get a quick shot through under pressure, which leads to a second chance opportunity and goal.
It’s not just the big clapper. Dickinson’s wrister is highly dangerous too.
We see both the slapper and the wrist shot here. The one timer is blocked, but Dickinson stays with the play, cuts to the middle and rifles a wrist shot through traffic for the goal.
Grade: 55
Skills
The vast majority of Dickinson’s offensive production comes from his big point shot, quick breakouts, or from his ability to find soft spots in coverage when jumping up in the play. He’s someone who uses his skating ability, in combination with his high IQ, way more than pure individual skill or creativity. He’s not consistently dangling defenders out of their skates to prolong possession or to work inside the way that fellow 2024 OHL running mate Zayne Parekh does. But that doesn’t mean that Dickinson is devoid of pure skill.
He’s really good at evading pressure in the defensive end. One, because he takes great routes to retrievals and because his skating advantage allows him to be consistently first in races. But two, because he blends quick moves and quick thinking with pivots, c-cuts, and stops/starts to escape forecheckers. Then, he’s got his head up and he’s looking to push pace, either with a stretch pass or with his feet. One thing you’ll see Dickinson do often, unlocking his creativity, is use the boards for self passes, allowing him to escape, but also build speed to initiate the breakout.
In fact, Dickinson is a master mathematician on the ice; his use of the boards is a sight to behold. Not only does he use it for self passes, but he routinely makes perfect stretch passes off the boards, hitting teammates in stride to create odd man opportunities. How precise he is, consistently, is a testament to how skilled of a passer he is.
Another area where Dickinson shows off his puck skill is when he is aggressive offensively without the puck, attacking the net. He routinely cycles down low on the powerplay or can be found driving hard through the middle in transition, catching defenders flat footed with his speed. He has scored several goals on partial breakaways this year, finishing off plays in tight with a deft move or quick shot.
All that said, is Dickinson a player with some skill limitations? At this current time, I do believe so. Earlier in the year, neutral zone and offensive zone turnovers were an issue where he would try to barrel through opposing defenses, failing to execute moves with the puck at full speed. To Dickinson’s credit, he’s really cut down on those turnovers as the year has progressed, learning to simplify his approach and pick his spots better. However, being able to blend hands with speed to attack the middle is what separates the top offensive defenders in the NHL like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, from simply efficient ones. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, Dickinson is not the world’s most creative powerplay quarterback. He’s successful on the man advantage because of his shot and his ability to work down low without the puck, not because he’s missing sticks and breaking down coverage.
One such example of Dickinson failing to execute a skilled move to get into the middle with the puck. In fact, it’s two such examples as he tries the same move twice, with the second attempt leading to a two on one for Erie.
First Dickinson fails to knock down the saucer pass, then he fails to execute the move at the blueline to escape pressure, leading to a bad turnover. Fortunately, Dickinson neutralizes it by easily catching up to the Battalion player, regaining possession, and drawing a penalty.
An example of Dickinson being unable to maintain possession deep in the offensive zone following an impressive rush. As mentioned, he does struggle with this from time to time.
Another turnover following an impressive rush. Dickinson panics under pressure deep in the zone and whips a pass back to the point to a London defender who’s not ready to receive a pass. You’d love to see him slow up and work the cycle.
While the initial pass to his feet plays a part in his eventual loss of the puck, I believe that this clip does point to some skill limitations as Dickinson fails to maintain possession as he looks to break into the middle.
Another turnover as Dickinson skates himself into trouble in the neutral zone. As mentioned, many of these clips were from earlier in the season as he worked to cut down on these by attacking outside lanes and simplifying his approach.
This is a great clip for a lot of reasons. One, it shows that Dickinson does have the skill and creativity to work inside from time to time. He nearly scores here on this impressive rush. It also shows how he likes to operate defensively by pressuring the point and forcing a turnover that he can capitalize on.
Dickinson shows both solid poise and solid skill here in the face of the two man forecheck. It looks like he’s in trouble, but he makes a deft move to escape pressure and executes an outlet.
What a skilled finish here by Dickinson. He works the give and go expertly, driving the middle with his speed and then finishes the play with a quick chip shot.
Great outlet execution from Dickinson here, right on the tape of Gazizov.
Grade: 55
Smarts
The description of Dickinson’s on ice awareness is best explained by separating his offensive and defensive tendencies.
Offensively, you’ll see Dickinson play extremely aggressively within London’s system. Not only does he routinely lead the charge out of the defensive zone himself, but he is consistently in attack mode without the puck and seeks out opportunities to jump up in the play. He uses his speed really well to beat backchecking forwards, putting pressure on opposing defenses to have to pick him up, which either creates chances for him or opens up ice for his teammates. For as aggressive he is, it’s actually rare to see Dickinson caught up ice with action going the other way; he picks his spots well. It also means that the majority of the time Dickinson activates, the Knights score or secure a stoppage.
As mentioned, Dickinson is also a breakout machine who rarely turns the puck over in his own end. His strong skating ability is such an asset because it allows him to be consistently first to retrieve the puck, but he also has great scanning habits and has a clear plan of attack, often before retrieval. That means that he’s routinely making breakout passes or chipping the puck out of trouble before he even feels pressure. This has such a profoundly positive impact on London’s transition game.
Defensively, Dickinson is a great stick on puck defender who has great gap control because of his terrific mobility. He routinely keeps attacking forwards to the perimeter and disrupts entry attempts. If he can force forwards to chip and chase, he often wins those races because of his transitional agility. Bottom line…it’s tough for opposing teams to secure the offensive zone when Dickinson is on the ice.
In zone coverage, Dickinson plays extremely aggressively, looking to use his length and quickness to disrupt shooting and passing lanes. It’s not uncommon to see him rotate to cover the point. That’s actually why he’s so good in transition offensively too, because his pressure up high forces turnovers and then he’s able to use his speed to beat defenders down the ice. While these roving tendencies will need to be reined in a bit at the NHL level, his skating ability does give him terrific recovery ability.
The only real negative that I’d have to say here is that Dickinson has a tendency to get caught puck watching when defending the slot. This makes him slow to react to shot attempts in that home plate area and less effective than you’d like him to be when defending net front. I would expect this to get cleaned up as he gains experience at the pro level. It also speaks to the need to improve the consistency of his physical engagement, which I’ll speak to next.
Head up the whole way here as Dickinson finds a loose puck in the defensive zone and quickly fires a one timed stretch pass to set up the two on none.
Eyes in the back of his head. Dickinson executes a stick lift and then quickly lobs it to Easton Cowan for the breakaway goal in overtime.
One such example of Dickinson getting caught puck watching. This leaves Malcolm Spence completely wide open in the slot, when Dickinson should have been marking him.
Exhibit B of Dickinson getting caught puck watching. With three London Knights enveloping the cycle, Dickinson doesn’t need to shade over to the puck, leaving the slot wide open. Insert Colby Barlow wide open at the dot for the goal.
Last year and early in the year, we saw Dickinson do this a lot, where he would slide to try to make plays and end up looking foolish. With his length, he’s much more effective on his feet and it’s clear that Dale Hunter and his staff have conveyed that message because it’s rare to see him leave his feet now.
An impressive rush from the summer’s Hlinka/Gretzky. Firstly, look at the terrific route Dickinson takes to this retrieval as he shoulder checks and identifies an opening on the left side. Then he quickly adapts to the secondary pressure to work a give and go and carries deep in the Finnish zone, nearly setting up a great chance. If that’s a right-handed Canadian shot in the slot, it’s in the back of the net. Instead, it’s an odd man rush the other way, but you live with that and I wouldn’t blame that on Dickinson.
Another play from the Hlinka/Gretzky. This time we see Dickinson’s high panic threshold and poise with the puck in the defensive end. He draws in pressure, holds until the last second and then executes a brilliant saucered stretch pass to give Canada a potential two on one (that isn’t executed very well).
The threat of Dickinson’s shot opens up this play as he sells shot, then passes off to Denver Barkey who finds Sam O’Reilly near the crease.
Love the offensive and defensive awareness on this play. First the give and go coming off the wall where he nearly scores off the tip in front. Then he works to put himself in a perfect defensive position on the backcheck to disrupt the counterattack. His length is so disruptive.
Love the offensive zone awareness here by Dickinson. Look at how he identifies an open left side and slides down to get an open look and goal.
Another instance of Dickinson’s terrific offensive awareness and aggressive nature. He drives wide, makes a cross ice pass, but then hits the middle lane hard, using his speed to get behind the defense.
Such a quietly effective defensive play by Dickinson. He hustles to provide support to his defensive partner and swats the puck away, not once, but twice.
Great defensive play by Dickinson as he kills the play in the neutral zone with his length, then sets a pick to help the breakout. London eventually scores on the counterattack.
Another tremendous play by Dickinson that shows how much of a difference maker he can be at both ends. He makes a great defensive play along the wall to force the turnover. Then, he’s on the attack and makes himself an outlet option, where his speed helps him draw a penalty.
Grade: 60
Physicality/Compete
Dickinson plays his most physical in open ice. He’ll step up on attackers early and look to disrupt entry attempts by throwing hits at the blueline or in the neutral zone. You’re actually most likely to see him throw a big hit following a turnover. He clearly hates losing the puck and channels that into physicality to help earn possession back for London. Dickinson is also a strong shot blocker whose compete level increases when he’s killing penalties or when he’s on the ice late to protect leads.
However, Dickinson is very much a mostly stick on puck defender. He prefers to use his length and skating advantage to be disruptive. He needs to get better at defending the net front and become more consistently dominant in 50/50 battles when he’s not able to win races to pucks in the corner. With his size, you’d love to see the physical engagement level be higher; it would certainly take his defensive game to the upper stratosphere.
The question is…can it get to that level as he gains experience and fills out his 6’3 frame? I think of a guy like Thomas Harley who was even more inconsistent physically than Dickinson as a draft eligible player. By the end of his OHL career, Harley was a consistent physical player who excelled as a two-way threat and we’re now seeing him blossom in the NHL as a top four defender for the Dallas Stars. We’re never going to see Dickinson become the second coming of Derian Hatcher, but I do believe that we’ll see him become a very competent and engaged defensive player at the NHL level.
Excellent defensive play by Dickinson here as he stays with Michael Misa, re-engages and separates him from the puck.
Another great defensive play by Dickinson. He engages early on Matthew Sop, but stays with him, eventually separating him from the puck. Then he escapes pressure and helps initiate the breakout.
Here we see Dickinson lose a net front battle to Cal Ritchie, who scores because Dickinson fails to tie him up in a scramble.
Grade: 50
OFP: 56.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scale, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.