The San Jose Sharks will reportedly be keeping rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson in the NHL rather than loaning him to the Canadian National Junior team for the next two-plus weeks.
Dickinson was eligible to play for Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota, but longtime NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported Sunday that the 19-year-old will instead be staying with the Sharks.
Dickinson, who was taken 11th overall by the Sharks in the 2024 NHL Draft, has played in 27 of San Jose’s 36 games so far this season. He has a goal and two assists and is averaging close to 15 minutes of ice time per game, including 17:33 in the Sharks’ 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday at SAP Center.
After the game, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said he thought Dickinson’s “legs were going tonight. There are some things we’ve got to continue to work on with him, like playing a little bit quicker. In junior, you can play slower, and you can transport the puck. We want to play quick. That’s how we get on teams, and when we slow pucks down is when we get in trouble.”
General manager Mike Grier and Warsofsky, as of earlier this week, were still discussing whether to loan Dickinson to the Canadian team.
Warsofsky, in his second year as the Sharks’ head coach, said the decision on Dickinson would come down to what the organization believes would be best for his development. He seemed lukewarm to the idea of returning him to a junior hockey environment.
“I think you want to continue to preach the habits that we need to play with at this level, and I think you can get away with some things when you play down a level,” Warsofsky said Wednesday.
“That’s no disrespect to the World Juniors or the (Ontario Hockey League), but when you’re the best player, sometimes you can create some bad habits, and we’re trying to get those bad habits away from him.”
Dickinson, a Toronto native, played in last year’s prestigious under-20 international tournament held in Ottawa. At the time, Dickinson was still with the OHL’s London Knights, a team coached by Dale Hunter that went on to win the Memorial Cup.
Hunter, a longtime former NHL forward, is also coaching the Canadian junior team this year.
The Sharks currently have eight healthy defensemen, with a ninth, Vincent Desharnais, working his way back from an upper-body injury. San Jose’s next game is Tuesday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights.
The World Junior tournament runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Minnesota.
The Sharks have a handful of prospects representing their countries, including center Michael Misa (Canada), defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius (Sweden), and goalie Christian Kirsch (Switzerland). Misa was drafted second overall by the Sharks in June, and Wallenius and Kirsch were 2024 picks by the team.
Goalie Josh Ravensbergen, also taken in the first round of this year’s draft by San Jose, is still in training camp with the Canadian team, which has not yet announced its complete 25-man roster. Center Cole McKinney, a second-round pick by the Sharks this year, is still on the American team’s preliminary roster.