Dickinson aiming to get 'bigger, stronger' with youthful Sharks

Sam Dickinson understands the stakes in the early stages of his rookie season with the San Jose Sharks.

The 19-year-old defenseman has two paths: play with the Sharks or spend a fourth season with London of the Ontario Hockey League. Because of his age, he's ineligible to play in the American Hockey League.

"I'm pretty confident myself," Dickinson said during the NHL Players' Association Rookie Showcase in September. "I think I've always been a very confident person. I don't think it'd be any value if I went in there not expecting to play in the NHL or anything like that.”

His confidence isn't wavering despite an uneven start to his season. That includes a rough game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, when he was a minus-3 and was whistled for two minor penalties in 11:52 of ice time in San Jose's 5-1 loss.

"Obviously letting a game like last night kind of destroy my confidence, and make that make me not play confident or anything like that anymore, it's not going to help me with anything," Dickinson said Wednesday. "So I think it's going to be big to still keep that confidence, but at the same time understand there's definitely a line to walk with how I need to play and making better reads and all that kind of stuff. So definitely just a lot to learn, take everything, soak it all in."

His next chance to put what he's learned to good use comes against the Utah Mammoth at Delta Center on Friday (9 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+).

Dickinson has no points in two games, but his offensive skills are one of the reasons the Sharks selected him with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Last season, he ranked second among OHL defensemen with 91 points (29 goals, 62 assists) in 55 games with London, led all OHL players with a plus-64 rating and was named the best defenseman in the OHL and the Canadian Hockey League.

During the OHL playoffs, he was fifth among all players and second among defensemen with 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 17 games to help London win the OHL championship, and then helped London capture the Memorial Cup as he led all defensemen with six points (all assists) in four games. He also had two assists in five games for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.

But Dickinson (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) knows his junior hockey play only will get him so far. It's why the focus of his offseason training was getting stronger.

"The jump from junior to pro is obviously big," Dickinson said in September. "When you're going up against 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds, compared to grown men, it's a little different. You've got to be a little stronger. I think a big emphasis for me has been on just everything on the off-ice side of things, just getting bigger, stronger, ready for that kind of game."

Training with NHL players like forwards Sean Monahan of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames and Scott Laughton of the Toronto Maple Leafs gave him access to role models, and NHL prospects around his own age provided motivation and competition, among them defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders and forwards Liam Greentree of the Los Angeles Kings and Malcolm Spence of the New York Rangers.

Playing until the Memorial Cup ended June 1, and then with interruptions for San Jose development camp in late June and the World Junior Summer Showcase in July, there was a degree of difficulty added to his offseason training. But Dickinson said he feels stronger now than he did when last season ended.

However, there are still adjustments to make when it comes to life in the NHL.

"He's done some good things and there's some things that he needs to continue to work on," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Wednesday. "Understand the pace, understand the urgency that you need to play with, how to defend and use your stick, and details and angling and body positioning. [The Carolina game] is a tough game for a young defenseman, and he learned, and he'll get better."

San Jose defenseman Nick Leddy said he's just as confident in Dickinson's future, and already has seen reason for major optimism.

"Definitely some poise," the 16-year NHL veteran said. "Obviously he's good offensively. I would say a very good skater. He defends with his feet too. I've noticed that even throughout training camp. He's a very smart hockey player as well. So he's definitely got a bright future ahead of him."

The Sharks can play Dickinson up to nine games before deciding to keep him and start his three-year, entry-level contract, or return him to London, where he could continue to learn from coach Dale Hunter, who last season became the second CHL coach with 1,000 wins. He'd also have a chance to play for Canada at the 2026 WJC.

"I'm pretty lucky where it's a win/win situation for me," Dickinson said. "There's not a better place I could be going back to in London."

But the goal is to stay in San Jose and continue to grow with the Sharks' young core, led by forwards Macklin Celebrini (19), Will Smith (20) and William Eklund (23), as well as Michael Misa (18), the No. 2 pick of the 2025 NHL Draft.

"I'm really excited for the challenge, and ready for the challenge as well," Dickinson said. "Just kind of looking forward to the next day that I get here, and just kind of looking to show myself, and take advantage of every opportunity that I get. ... I'm looking forward to the challenges, the opportunities, the ups and downs, kind of everything that's going to come with what I'm going to accomplish here.

"It's a lot more excitement than it is anything else, and just looking forward to sort of what comes next."

NHL.com independent correspondent Max Miller contributed to this report