SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks are taking their sweet time, and Sam Dickinson is doing his best to bide his time.
Dickinson was still with the Sharks as of Friday afternoon, as the team didn’t make any announcement about whether they would keep the rookie defenseman on the NHL roster or return him to the Ontario Hockey League.
Dickinson played his ninth game of the season on Thursday night as the Sharks used a fast start to earn a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils, marking their first victory at SAP Center this season. Dickinson had 14:23 in ice time, all at even strength, as he played on the Sharks’ third defense pair with Shakir Mukhamadullin.
If the Sharks play Dickinson in a 10th game, they would burn the first year of his three-year entry-level contract, making him eligible for restricted free agency – and a likely significant pay rise — following the 2027-28 season. The Sharks also have the option of loaning Dickinson back to his major junior team, the London Knights.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said he and general manager Mike Grier talk daily about what’s best for Dickinson.
“Do we think we’re seeing enough growth there? Do we see potential growth quickly in this league, or does it make sense for him to go back?” Warsofsky said. “Right now, we believe being right here is a good spot for him.”
Dickinson, 19, said after Friday’s practice that he hadn’t heard anything about his future. He briefly spoke to Grier earlier in the day, wishing him good morning after passing him in a stairwell inside the team’s practice facility.
“Anybody in this situation would be lying if they said they just completely weren’t thinking about it,” Dickinson said. “Obviously, thoughts come up. But it’s nice to have people to talk to about it. Obviously (Michael Misa and I) are going through this together, so (it’s nice to have) a guy like that to lean on.”
Dickinson said he also regularly talks to his family, frequently exchanging texts with his older brother Jack to help him with any anxiety he’s experiencing.
“Obviously, things are getting pretty tense, and he’s definitely the easiest guy for me to talk to about literally anything,” Dickinson said.
The Sharks, winners of three of their last five games, finish their homestand with games against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday and the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
Dickinson said getting into the lineup for one of those two games, “would mean everything.”
“This has been my dream for so long. Every kid who plays hockey’s dream is to play in the NHL, and just to get a taste of it now is pretty surreal. The opportunity to stay here for the year is potentially right around the corner, and it’s everything that I’ve worked for and definitely something that I’m pretty excited for, the potential of it to happen.”
Dickinson, 19, had now played nine of the Sharks’ 11 games this season and has averaged 14:05 in ice time. He is still looking for his first NHL point, but does have some positive underlying numbers.
“It’s nine games in now, so I think at this point I’ve gotten to be pretty comfortable with how everything’s going to go,” Dickinson said. “A big one is not putting too much stress on every single game and being really worried about everything. But just kind of going in and worrying about that one game and going out there and worrying about the period and the shift and just the next play, not really getting too far ahead into things. Just kind of go and play hockey.”
Dickinson is coming off a season for the ages with the London Knights. In a combined 72 games, regular season and playoffs, Dickinson had 122 points and was a big part of the Knights’ run to the Memorial Cup before he was named the Canadian Hockey League’s top defenseman.
Warsofsky said Dickinson has “done a great job” dealing with the uncertainty.
“There are obviously conversations and video sessions and daily meetings with him, with the whole defense as a group, with team meetings,” Warsofsky said. “So he’s handled it great.”