Josh Frojelin
Sam Dickinson looks like he will break camp with the San Jose Sharks.
The 19-year-old defenseman has nothing left to prove in the OHL. The AHL is not an option.
But that doesn’t mean that he’s ready for the NHL either.
While the 6-foot-3 left-hander has shown an offensive flair throughout camp, San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky was focused more on developing the top prospect’s defensive game throughout camp.
“We know what he can do offensively,” Warsofsky said of the 2025 CHL Defenseman of the Year, who dropped 91 points for the London Knights. “Can he do it defensively?”
Dickinson and Warsofsky spoke about his defense on multiple occasions since the beginning of camp.
Vincent Desharnais also spoke about the defenseman’s biggest challenge when entering the best league in the world.
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky, on what the San Jose Sharks did with Dickinson defensively early in camp:
We’re working with him, obviously, with the one-on-one’s and his stick positioning, not wrapping his stick around for penalties.
He hasn’t had to do that very much in London. Now he’s going to defend.
Warsofsky, on what the San Jose Sharks have been working on with Dickinson defensively:
Around our net, just being a little bit more physical, boxing out, having a little more bite around our net. I think he’s got that in him. Just knowing when to do that. This is a step up for him. Didn’t really have to do that much in London.
I know he can do things [offensively] on the blueline. I know he can jump in the rush.
We got to get him to play defense, be responsible. So we can put him out there against Jack Eichel, I can put him out there against Mitch Marner come Thursday. We’re getting there.
It’s a work in progress.
Warsofsky, on Dickinson’s biggest defensive challenge, if he starts the season in the NHL:
When you get into late in your shift, you’re a little tired. Can you still think through some decisions?
Warsofsky, on Dickinson’s defensive coachability:
What I like is he’s coachable, and he takes it in. He’s not set in his ways. Just creating offense. He wants to be a complete defenseman.
Sam Dickinson
Dickinson, on how this training camp compares to his camp last year:
Some of that is just the confidence, I think, rises. Anybody coming into their first year is a little bit nervous and scared of screwing up. For me this year, it’s just [about] being confident my abilities. Going out there, like I said before, just doing what’s gotten me here. The things that have been successful for me in the past, continuing with those things. Bringing the execution, and the level of how hard I work, up a little bit.
Dickinson, on the message to him from Ryan Warsofsky:
Coming every day and give everything I’ve got. I don’t really think much changes. The end goal is always going to be the same every time I come here. And that’s to play on the Sharks, come regular season Game One. From the coaching staff, they want to ice the best team possible. If I’m one of the six defensemen that are going to do that, then that’s going to be the case. And if not, we’ll see what happens from there. But for me, I’m just worried about, day by day, going out there and showing what I’ve got on the ice.
Dickinson, on being paired with Vincent Desharnais:
He’s great. A great guy, definitely helped me out a lot. Always giving me pointers and things like that on the ice. Every time he talks, I’m all ears. But even on the ice, just a great player. A guy who settles everything down. You know he’s going to take a one-on-one for you. Or if he’s the guy that you’re playing with, you know that you’re pretty safe in the defensive zone, because he shuts down everything that goes around him. It’s definitely been a big help to me.
Dickinson, on learning to make the first pass out of the zone in the NHL:
A big thing is simplicity is going to take you pretty far. You’re not always going to go back there, make a move around a guy, and then wheel out the zone. A lot of the times you’re going back there, and you’ve just got to make the simple, hard play. Every play has got to be hard. I think that’s been a big one for me, just not trying to get caught up doing too much, trying to impress, or anything like that. Just make that first, hard play. Make the right play.
Dickinson, on ridding himself of “junior habits:”
There’s obviously a bit of a transition from how anybody would play in junior compared to how you’re playing here. But I think it’s been a pretty quick adjustment for me. I think I adjust pretty quick to things. When I’m told to do something, pretty quickly, I’ll pick up on it and get it going next rep [or] next shift. I think it’s been a good transition for me.
Vincent Desharnais
Desharnais, on what Dickinson’s biggest challenge will be defensively in the NHL:
I think the speed is the biggest challenge if you come in from the juniors. The speed in this league—you can be the best defenseman in juniors or in college, and you get to this league, and it’s a little bit of a challenge at first, because it’s such a fast pace and the top lines on each team are so fast. You just get to that pace and make sure you don’t get beat in one-on-ones and being hard in the D-zone. It’s a lot of work, it’s hard to get there, but it’s a key in this league. If you want to stay in this league and be a very good defenseman for a long time, you have to be able to defend well.