Anaheim Ducks 2024 Draft Target: Sam Dickinson
The Anaheim Ducks will be selecting third overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. There are several directions the Ducks can take with making that pick and one of them is the minute-munching defenseman from the London Knights, Sam Dickinson.
The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery was held on Tuesday, May 7, and was won by the San Jose Sharks who will be selecting first overall. The Anaheim Ducks will select third.
The undisputed top prospect the Sharks will almost certainly select is the standout Freshman center from Boston University, Macklin Celebrini. After Celebrini, there is an extremely murky tier of 5-10 players who could each make a case as the second-best prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft. Each of those players has one or two significant question marks, however.
This series will spotlight five of the most common names atop the rankings of expert NHL Draft outlets.
Sam Dickinson
Sam Dickinson is the most projectable and polished defender in the 2024 NHL Draft. In his second OHL season playing for the London Knights, he has refined his defensive game and found a successful formula to produce consistently at the offensive end.
After producing a modest 23 points in 62 games in 2022-23 and adding eight more in 21 playoff games as the Knights lost in the OHL Championship Series, Dickinson saw his role and production skyrocket in 2023-24. He finished the regular season with 18 goals and 70 points in 68 games and currently has 12 points in 17 playoff games as the Knights are up 3-0 in this year's OHL Championship Series.
Dickinson averages well over 20 minutes per night for London and is a mainstay of the team's top penalty kill and power play units.
The Potential Upside
Sam Dickinson leverages his physical tools with his high-compete level to positively influence play over the entire ice surface. He has an NHL frame standing at 6-foot-3, 194-pounds, a strong and fluid skating stride, terrific four-way mobility, and a heavy yet smart shot from the point.
Dickinson's defensive ability is as textbook and detail-oriented as one will find in a 17-year-old draft-eligible defenseman. He seldom if ever loses his assignment in defensive zone coverage. Though not overly physical, when he engages a puck carrier, he simultaneously establishes body position and takes away the opponent's stick before sealing them off the puck. Defending the rush, he displays a perfect gap, can dictate and influence a puck carrier, and makes himself three lanes wide with his smooth yet powerful backward crossovers.
He is surprisingly active in the offensive zone, constantly moving along the blueline, activating down the wall, or weaving with teammates high in the zone. He works to get his shots off and when he does they are heavy and, more importantly, consistently get to the net around a screen or find a teammates stick for a tip.
He has improved his transition ability as the season has progressed. He is more patient with the puck and makes finer decisions moving it up ice.
The Potential Downside
There aren't too many nits to pick in Dickinson's game and most of them are on the offensive side of the puck.
He may lack the dynamism with the puck on his stick that a few of his fellow top draft-eligible defensemen possess. He could stand to read the second layer of a forecheck a bit more proficiently.
He's improved in transition but has occasionally left the defensive zone a little early. It's tough to tell if that's what the Knight's system requires of him or if he's making too risky a read.
While he is active in the offensive zone, he sometimes makes questionable reads and can choose an incorrect lane without the puck while looking for a pass.
Hockey IQ is the consistent knock on his game from public scouts.
The Potential Fit (with the Ducks)
When playing matchmaker with the Ducks and Sam Dickinson (or any prospect), two aspects must be weighed; positional fit and stylistic fit.
Positionally, Dickinson may be seen as a redundancy. Already playing significant roles in the NHL are young left-handed defensemen, Jackson LaCombe (23), Olen Zellweger (20), and Pavel Mintyukov (20). Tyson Hinds (21) and Konnor Smith (19) will also soon be nipping at their heels and playing full-time in the AHL in 2024-25. If handedness is a consideration for the Ducks when looking for a defenseman at the top of the draft, Dickinson doesn't seem to be a fit.
Stylistically, Dickinson is exactly what the Ducks may be looking to add to their blueline if they want to round out the unit and provide balance. He is trending toward becoming an ace of a top-four shutdown defenseman in the NHL and can provide enough offensive ability to escape forechecks, skate pucks up ice, distribute pucks constructively, and get pucks through traffic.
The London Knights run a man-to-man defensive system similar to the Anaheim Ducks. Dickinson has proven to be disciplined, diligent, and adept enough to thrive in that system.
If handedness isn't a consideration for Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek and Director of Amateur Scouting Martin Madden or they view Dickinson as a better option than most of the players in the organization at that position, a future pairing of Dickinson and a player like Pavel Mintyukov or Tristan Luneau has the potential to be one of the best 200-foot pairs in the NHL.