Sharks Keeping Dickinson: Sam Shares Grier’s Message, His Emotional Conversation With Dad

Sam Dickinson can get out of the hotel now.

The 19-year-old (former) London Knights star will play his 10th NHL game tonight, against the Detroit Red Wings. This likely will keep him on the San Jose Sharks for the full season, as his entry-level contract cannot “slide” to next year anymore.

If the Sharks had sent him back to the OHL before 10 NHL contests, they could’ve delayed the official beginning of his three-year contract until next season.

The No. 11 pick of the 2024 Draft said that he met with GM Mike Grier, right before the San Jose Sharks took on the Colorado Avalanche. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky had already told him the night before that he wasn’t playing against the Avs.

“I was a little nervous. I got a text saying that I had to meet with him. Some nerves kicked in,” Dickinson admitted. “But then I figured, it could also be a good meeting. So I kind of started running with that’s what the meeting was going to be, not a bad meeting. That kind of kept me wired together.”

Dickinson had let his father Steve know that he had a meeting with the GM, and on cue, his dad called him right at the end of the meeting.

“He called me two minutes after,” Dickinson said. “He somehow knew.”

Of course, the first person to know should be his father, his rock.

“Every time I call him, it always means a lot. Whether it’s two minutes or 20 minutes, or even longer than that, it’s always helpful to me, and kind of relaxes me and calms me down,” Dickinson said. “It was definitely special to have him be the first person.”

But this time, it was Dickinson who calmed his dad down.

“Right as I said what we talked about in the meeting,” Dickinson said, “I think I heard him audibly sigh and kind of relax a little bit.”

Dickinson, on Misa's reaction to his good news: "He was really happy for me when I found out I was playing [today], he was one of the first guys that came up to me…It's just nice to have another guy that you can kind of lean on."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 2, 2025

As for the message from Grier?

“Keep going with how I’ve been,” Dickinson said. “We kind of talked about I’ve been getting more comfortable, more confident every single game. Kind of just building off of that, having that continue throughout the season.”

“It’s pro sports and it’s the National Hockey League, so he’s got to continue to show improvement and show that he belongs here. But I think early on this season, he’s taking some big steps of getting more and more comfortable as he plays, correcting mistakes. We’re seeing some growth in this game,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’ve seen speed bumps in the game, but ultimately we’ve seen him take some steps in the right direction, where we think he can help our offense.”

The San Jose Sharks bench boss added that Dickinson’s mental fortitude is a big part of keeping him in the best league in the world, the young blueliner’s ability to learn from and bounce back from mistakes.

“He definitely gets rattled around a little bit, and it doesn’t seem like it bothers him, which is a real positive for a young man,” Warsofsky said. “So definitely part of it.”

So where’s Dickinson moving to? Macklin Celebrini lives with Joe Thornton, Will Smith with Patrick Marleau, and Michael Misa with Tyler Toffoli.

“Still figuring that out,” he smiled. “Find out soon enough.”

Of course, Dickinson has already made the most important move, to the NHL.

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