Dickinson, an OHL champ, the Knights’ next high-draft D-man

Described as a ‘complete defenseman,’ Sam Dickinson played a major role in helping the London Knights win the 2024 OHL title. In June, he’ll be drafted by an NHL team. Just how high will he go?

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The London Knights have had no shortage of top talent come through their program.

Just since 2013, a total of 13 Knights have been selected in the first round of the NHL draft. That number increases 20 22 since 2000 when Dale and Mark Hunter took over the team.

Sam Dickinson will likely add his name to the list in June.

“He’s a phenomenal player. Many nights, he’s playing upwards of 30 minutes. For a young kid like that to be able to manage those minutes and play at that level is pretty impressive,” Rob Simpson, the Knights’ associate general manager, told Gameday London.

“He plays the penalty kill, he plays powerplay … you don’t see many 17-year-olds be able to handle that against top-level players on other teams. I think that’s why he’s rated so high in the draft. He’s a future NHLer who’s going to have a long career.”

Dickinson was the seventh ranked North American skater in NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking ahead of this June’s draft. He’s considered one of the most complete defensemen in the draft class. With 70 points during this year’s regular season, Dickinson had the fourth highest total among blueliners.

But Simpson says to call him an offensive defenceman would be selling his other strengths short.

“Around the league, there’s always a lot of offensive defensemen. We’ve had a lot of them here as well. I would call Sam a complete defenseman. He can bring offence, but he can also bring defence against tough matchups,” Simpson said, adding that Dickinson’s versatility may be his biggest strength.

“That’s something he has in his toolkit. He can bring the offence, as we’ve seen this year with his point production and goals, but his defensive game, with his skating and size, is something all NHL teams would love to have on their roster.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

For his part, Dickinson says he takes the points when he can get them, but offense isn’t his main focus out there.

“I play defence for a reason, so keeping the puck out and playing defence is priority number one for me,” the 17-year-old said. “Any time I’m able to jump in the rush and create opportunities is obviously nice, and when I can do that without giving up rushes and chances the other way, then I’m all for it.”

He scored 18 goals this season, with 11 of them coming on the powerplay. Those are strong offensive numbers for a draft-eligible defenceman, but finishing the season with a plus-58 rating suggests he’s no slouch in his own zone either. Plus-minus can be a stat that doesn’t tell the whole story, but it can be an indicator of an overlying pattern — in this case, that Dickinson plays against some of the league’s top talent and things work out in his favour more often than not.

“I think every defenceman wants to be getting big minutes and playing against the top guys, and that’s absolutely the case for me.” he said. “Every time I get out there and get a chance to match up against those top guys, it’s a challenge that I’m absolutely ready for.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

The Knights have had several strengths this season, as most OHL championship teams do. Among them: a historically efficient powerplay; a deadly penalty kill; strong goaltending; and depth, both offensively and the blueline.

Dickinson says it’s the team’s strong transition game that drives their success.

“That’s been a bit of an identity for us this year … quick transitions and speed through the neutral zone,” he said.

“With the defencemen we have, being able to step up and force turnovers in good spots and quickly getting that puck up ice to our forwards has been key. If we can get them odd man rushes, we have full confidence that any of them can go out there and put some plays together and get some goals for us.”

Dickinson played in all 21 games as a 16-year-old during last year’s run to the OHL final, which is something he says helped him coming into his draft year in 2023-24.

“Being able to build that confidence from last year … the playoff run we had and the impact I had as a 16-year-old … was really huge for my confidence,” he said. “Being a part of that team and going that far was unbelievable. The lessons you learn and confidence you build from a run like that is huge.”

So huge, in fact, it helped the team get over the hump in 2023-24 and win an OHL title — their fifth in franchise history. Dickinson played in all 68 regular season games (a true testament to his durability), and then enjoyed a strong postseason, tallying 13 points and a plus-11 in 18 games.

But the groundwork was laid during last season’s run. Simspon says it’s not often a young defenceman can fit in so well lining up against players three or four years older, which he did all the time last year.

“We had some great veterans on that team, and to be immersed in that group and be a part of it, and to see our league at the highest level, that experience is so valuable.”

The last Knight to be selected in the top 10 of the NHL draft was Evan Bouchard in 2018, and then Matthew Tkachuk two years prior.

This year’s draft is on June 28 and 29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Three other Knights were also among Central Scouting’s pre-draft ranking … Sam O’Reilly (24th), Jared Woolley (73rd), and Ruslan Gazizov (192nd).