Heading into the 2025-26 season, the San Jose Sharks were in no man's land with regard to defenseman Sam Dickinson. He wasn't quite ready for the NHL, but he had accomplished everything he could in the Ontario Hockey League, and he wouldn't develop any further at that level. As a 19-year-old, he was ineligible for the American Hockey League due to the rules at the time, which are set to change a season too late in this regard.
Given a lack of legitimate options to help Dickinson develop properly, the Sharks were forced to play him at the NHL level, even though he wasn't quite ready. While he wasn't bad at the NHL level, he did struggle quite a bit early on, and his offensive contribution, which is a key aspect of his game, wasn't up to par.
Per MoneyPuck, Dickinson had the second-most defensive zone giveaways, 65, by a Sharks defenseman, trailing just Dmitry Orlov. He had 3.5 goals below expected and an abysmal shooting percentage of 1.4%. With that being said, he played as well as can be expected for a 19-year-old defenseman at the NHL level. With the exception of Matthew Schaefer with the New York Islanders, defensemen are known to develop much slower than forwards and take longer to reach their prime. As a result, it's commendable that Dickinson was able to even hang at the NHL level given his age.
Now, Dickinson is heading into a key season for his development, one that could potentially affect the rest of his career. There's a very recent example that highlights exactly what the Sharks shouldn't do if they want to keep Dickinson on the right path.
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Kevin Korchinski with the seventh-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, just two years before Dickinson was taken 11th overall. Like Dickinson, Korchinski spent one more year in the Canadian Hockey League after being drafted and seemingly reached a point where his development would stall if he remained in the junior ranks. At 19 years of age, Korchinski was ineligible for the AHL and jumped into the NHL right away.
Looking at the two players' rookie seasons statistically, they're very similar. Korchinski played 76 games for the Blackhawks, scoring five goals and adding 10 assists for a total of 15 points. Dickinson on the other hand, appeared in 72 games for the Sharks, scoring a single goal and finishing with 14 total points. Korchinski did play a slightly bigger role for the Blackhawks, though, as he averaged 19:37 of ice time while Dickinson had just 16:45.
Given his performance at the NHL level as a 19-year-old, it seemed Korchinski was in the fast lane to success. Instead, things rapidly fell apart. He was reassigned to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs to start the 2024-25 season, and he's never been the same since. He's played 109 games at the AHL level now, and appeared in just 29 NHL games over the last two seasons.
While there are, of course, differences between Korchinski and Dickinson, as the former has been essentially a purely offensive defenseman at the NHL level while Dickinson has been somewhat serviceable in his own end, Korchinski's fall off shows why the Sharks need to handle this season perfectly if they want to get Dickinson to reach his true potential. It's possible that the Blackhawks are able to save Korchinski's development, but at this stage, it seems that if he ever reaches his ceiling, it won't be with Chicago.
Given their desire for a true number one defenseman, the Sharks need to handle Dickinson's second professional season properly; otherwise, it could set the organization back massively. Given how Korchinski's game fell off after being sent to the AHL, the Sharks would be wise to double down on their decision last fall and keep Dickinson in the NHL to prevent a similar outcome.
