If there is one defenseman in the 2024 NHL Draft that peaks the interest of scouts who might want a more pro-ready type of player and not someone who is really a home-run swing but a safe single through the infield — it might just be Sam Dickinson.
With a recorded height of 6-foot-3, a weight of almost 200 lbs., and a very typical rate of production you see from the upper-echelon of blueliners coming out of the Canadian Hockey League, the Toronto-born player has all the physical tools that you kind of want from a first-round defenseman. Add in handfuls of above-average talents like his skating, shot, ability to be offensively aware, and Dickinson is just that kind of pick.
He might become an absolute horse on the blue line for the team that picks him, or he can just be that solid professional defenseman that we see taken a little higher than some eventual star forwards. Really, the team that takes Dickinson is probably just fine with taking the unexciting selection and walking away with a solid player while leaving some higher potential on the board. Of course, coming from the prestigious Yankees-esque program of the OHL’s London Knights only increases his reputation — so we have to add that to his profile, as well.
Pre-Draft Rankings
No. 6 by The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)
No. 6 by Sportsnet
No. 7 by TSN (Bob McKenzie)
No. 8 by Elite Prospects
Statistics
What’s there to like?
First, the production is just solid from Dickinson. While other CHL defensemen like Zayne Perekh and Carter Yakemchuk scored more, Dickinson still scored over a point per game which is incredibly respectable in a draft year from any junior league. Dickinson placed second in Under-18 defensemen in scoring (of course Perekh, who led the entire age group of skaters in scoring is the one above him) this season but historically, it is so much better.
In the last 10 seasons in the OHL, among all Under-18 defensemen, Dickinson’s 1.03 points-per-game still ranks fourth. Perekh is at the top with his insane 1.45 points-per-game, while other all-offense talents like Ryan Merkley’s 1.06 points-per-game and former New York Islanders prospect Mitchell Vande Sompel scored 1.09 points-per-game are the only players that out-produced Dickinson in that age group.
That means a boatload of current NHL stars who didn’t score as many points as Dickinson did at 17 years old in the OHL. Jakob Chychrun, Mikhail Sergachev, Rasmus Sandin, Brandt Clarke, Evan Bouchard, Nic Hague, and our very own Jamie Drysdale — just to name a handful of pretty good players.
Now all of this production could just be he has players like Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Easton Cowan scoring a billion points while he is on the ice, but he needs someone to at least get the puck for him and move the puck up the ice.
Probably the first thing that most scouts will say about Dickinson — as they did in the above draft profile, full of highlights of him scoring slick goals — is that he poses the threat of being a mobile skater while also having size in his favor.
Typically, you’re getting one or the other when it comes to the normal selections of defensemen in the draft — little tiny-but-speedy blueliners, or gigantic slug-like defenders who are not as agile — by all accounts and reports, Dickinson can play both roles. He can move around the ice extremely well and has the offensive control to read plays and execute on them, while also posing a physical threat that would not be easy to knock off the puck or can beat his way through opposing players.
Really, drafting Dickinson feels like a safe option to get a player with a whole lot of tools that you want on an NHL blue line. Getting a guy with his size, speed, power, and any other positive attribute you can think of, feels like a no-brainer selection. But are there any downsides to his game?
What’s not to like?
Reading a whole lot of reports, there isn’t a whole lot of ink spilled criticizing Dickinson as a prospect. Any neutral observer really just chalks his potential as good or solid or above-average, while not digging any further into potential cracks he could have.
Aside from complete non-criticism, there are some flaws to his game that scouts are willing to discuss. The main negative thing that we have read about Dickinson is that he, sometimes, does not want to be as active defensively as other players. Much like other all-world talents in the offensive zone — *cough* Zayne Perekh *cough* — the defensive effort is not near the professional level and he will need to get the 200-foot effort drilled into his head later in his development.
And building on that, there is the concern that he has just always been bigger than his opposition. There is a trend of junior hockey players who have grown faster and are just simply stronger than their teenaged peers, not being ready to play professional hockey and potentially not getting to that level. They have been able to bully their way to scoring a lot of points, and against similarly sized players (or players bigger and stronger than them) they will not be able to do the same things that earned them those points.
In the highlights we have seen, Dickinson really does just glide his way to the high-danger area of the ice using his mobility and physical presence. In the NHL, or any professional league playing against men, they would probably just not let him do that and who knows how many fewer points that means. And if Dickinson is not able to do that, then by accounts of some scouts, he becomes a decently skating defensemen who needs to work on his defense. Is that a top-10 selection blueliner? Does he do anything exceptionally well that can be unbreakable at the pro level? It is really just more questions about his potential development and no concrete criticism.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Dickinson would be a great add to the Philadelphia Flyers. Well, really any capable defenseman would be. Dickinson could be that two-way blueliner that just further solidifies the future of this team on the back end. Being able to get a player with his offensive threat and already having a coaching staff that could really make him better defensively (potentially) and fix any holes he could potentially have, would be fantastic. Dickinson already has the raw tools necessary to be molded into a stellar, top-pairing Guy.
Being a left-handed shot, he could most likely be suddenly thrust into a long-term spot in the top-four, if everything pans out. Maybe a partner to Jamie Drysdale, or he could form an ultra-tall, two-way pairing with Travis Sanheim (if he is still here), or maybe just have his London Knights teammate Oliver Bonk waiting for him in Philadelphia to continue their success.
No matter which way you look at it, the Flyers could use another potential top-end defenseman and Dickinson could be that guy.
Can the Flyers actually get him?
Okay, well, with the 12th overall pick, Dickinson is most likely going to be gone by then. We have seen him ranked in the top-eight selections throughout the year, but we have had crazier things happen on Draft Night. Maybe teams start to like other defensemen like Adam Jiricek, Carter Yakemchuk, Anton Silyaev, and Zeev Buium, more than Dickinson — or they decide to pick the top forwards available instead. Then we could just see the tall, mobile defenseman drop and drop until he falls into the Flyers’ lap.
That is a possibility that might seem crazy, but we have seen similar things happen to players who everyone thinks should be gone way before the middle of the first round.
What scouts are saying
Dickinson is a very complete, projectable top-four defenceman who has size, high-end skating and a developing offensive game that has really rounded into form this season. Last year, he stepped right onto the Knights blue line at 16 (rare) and played bigger minutes by year’s end than some drafted guys (rarer) on a deep blue line, including in key situations in the playoffs. This season, he has played a leading role in all facets of the game on another strong London team (which has included successfully quarterbacking one of the power-play units and developing his shot into more of a weapon to push for 20 goals). He’s a strong 6-foot-3/4 defenseman whose skating is a real strength (forward, backward, four-way mobility, the full package for a defender his size). He plays firm and with confidence in who he is and what makes his game so successful. He defends at a very high level for his age both man-to-man, down low and positionally in his own zone. He has skill and poise with the puck (which began to reveal itself more at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer and has stamped itself for the Knights this season) and has started to make better and more consistent reads under pressure (he’s showing real comfort and even deception past opposing forwards these days, and has shown some nice vision and touch as well). — Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
At this point my brain is so scrambled trying to figure out Sam Dickinson that I may just have to accept that I am undervaluing him and may look silly. I’ve seen him a ton this year, and far more often than not, I’ve seen more things that concern me than excite me. I love his puck protection in the offensive zone, I like his ability to time stick checks and quickly turn pucks back offensively, and I do see a lot of potential somewhere in there. On the flipside, he’s a low volume shooter and shot assist generator at 5v5 for a player at almost a point per game, he’s turning over about 2/3 of the offensive transitions he attempts and is extremely pass-heavy in that regard, and I have found Dickinson to be a much more laid-back, passive and positional defender more often than I’d like. The weird thing is that I find is strongest moments are carrying and moving pucks on his own, but he very rarely does it. No matter which way you slice it, the data isn’t spectacular, and I’ve found my viewings of him to be somewhat underwhelming… until they’re not. He’s one of these weird players this year that I still have trouble getting a read on, and remain somewhat conservative relative to most. — Will Scouch, scouching.ca
Another day, another addition to the poll. Let’s toss another defenseman on here! It’s Zayne Parekh!
Parekh is an extremely talented offensive defenseman who has arguably been the best defenseman in the OHL this season. He has a ton of skill and hockey sense. When the puck is on his stick he beats opponents one-on-one often. His brain operates differently from other players on the ice in how he sees the ice and can take an extra second with the puck to create a scoring chance. He skates well and can attack with his speed and skill. He has strong edge work and top speed and is very elusive off the blue line. He also has an excellent point shot being a constant goal-scoring threat.
Corey Pronman, The Athletic
Previously on the 2024 Community Draft Board…
- Macklin Celebrini
- Ivan Demidov
- Artyom Levshunov
- Anton Silayev
- Cayden Lindstrom
- Sam Dickinson
- ????
