With one week left until the NHL Draft and two weeks left until free agency, it's time to throw some darts at the board. Spencer Lazary and I have you covered.
The Utah Hockey Club is now on the clock.
The so-called experts (including myself) believe that Utah will go with a defenceman, either two-way or mostly offensive, in their choice at no. 6 in the upcoming NHL Draft next Friday at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
With that, we present our first draft target: London's Sam Dickinson.
Noted as the best available defenceman in the upcoming NHL Draft, Dickinson racked up 70 points in 68 games, mostly assists, for the Knights in the Ontario Hockey League, adding 13 more points in the playoffs to help them reach the Memorial Cup Final.
Dickinson is a smooth skater that can get downhill on the rush, especially on the power play, if he gets the chance.
Speaking of the power play, he can absolutely let them fly. Dickinson's wrist shot release is one of the quickest among defencemen, and his slap shot is a blur.
But critically, he can use his 6-foot-3 frame at nearly 200 pounds to just box people off the puck. It almost reminds me of Vegas' Nick Hague; he's skilled enough on defence to irritate you.
Offensively, it's like watching Miro Heiskanen or Noah Hanifin; he has high hockey IQ that he uses to his advantage to simply outsmart you and outshoot you.
He's a mix of two different styles that would suit Utah perfectly as they attempt to solidify their defence core for the future.