Sam Dickinson’s second NHL season is about more than minutes. For the San Jose Sharks, it’s about trust.
The 20-year-old defenseman has the size, skating and offensive gifts that make him look like a long-term fixture on the blue line. But after a rookie year spent mostly on the third pair, the Sharks want the next step to show up in the details that don’t always jump off the scoresheet - especially the work in his own end.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky made that clear Tuesday as Dickinson pushes to become a more reliable all-situations option.
“We need to free him up, in a sense, and let him play his game,” Warsofsky said of Dickinson on Tuesday. “But there’s also a responsibility going into year two of how you need to play so you can play the minutes that he wants to.”
Dickinson said that message matches what he’s trying to prove in camp.
“I want to prove to the coaches that I’ve built off of last year, and I can be more trustworthy in all scenarios of the game,” said Dickinson, the 11th overall pick of the 2024 draft. “That’s been a big focus of mine coming into camp, competing as hard as I can, learning as much as possible with the new things that are being implemented.”
Last season, Dickinson finished with 14 points in 72 games, and his role grew as the year went on. He averaged 14:30 in ice time per game through October and November, then jumped to 18:34 from December to April. He also went from barely seeing penalty-kill work to becoming one of the first defensemen over the boards in those situations.
The Sharks know the upside is there. Dickinson piled up 122 points in 72 regular season and playoff games with the London Knights in 2024-25.
But the immediate focus is on what happens before the breakout pass, not after it. The staff wants him sharper at boxing out, blocking shots, ending plays faster in the defensive zone and making a cleaner first pass.
The turnover numbers underline the point. Per Natural Stat Trick, Dickinson had 76 giveaways during 5-on-5 play last season, the third most among Sharks defensemen behind Dmitry Orlov (95) and Mario Ferraro (78). He was also on the ice for 242 high-danger chances against at 5-on-5, compared to 211 high-danger chances for.
“There’s going to be a heightened responsibility in those certain moments in the game,” Warsofsky said. “It speeds up on him a little bit, and he tries to make something that … it’s a high-risk play there. He tries to jump on the other side when there’s not a very high reward in that play.
“So just having him understand those situations, I think, will clean up a lot of his game.”
That lesson showed up in the Sharks’ preseason opener Sunday in Anaheim. Dickinson lost position on the Ducks’ first goal, giving Cutter Gauthier space to get by him along the boards near the defensive blue line before setting up Jackson LaCombe for an easy 2-on-1 finish.
“I’d want that first goal back. Just caught on the wrong side, and just need to fix the positioning there,” Dickinson said.
“But after that, I settled in a little bit, kind of found my game a little more, started moving my feet. I was really focused on the defensive side of everything with the new systems, and just wanted to be really solid there.”
Warsofsky didn’t dismiss the mistake, either.
“Obviously the goal against is not ideal,” Warsofsky said. “There’s certainly, you know, a lot of things that we need to get cleaned up and probably cleaned up pretty quickly.”
Dickinson sat out Tuesday’s preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights, but he should get into at least one more exhibition. San Jose hosts Anaheim on Tuesday and visits Vegas on Saturday.
Warsofsky said the preseason is still about sorting out roles, but the direction of the team is becoming clearer.
“We’re kind of getting ready to win here, and that’s where the train’s moving,” Warsofsky said, referencing the end of the Sharks’ rebuild. “You have to earn your ice time, you have to earn those responsibilities in certain situations. We’ve still got three more exhibition games and a lot can play out.”
Meanwhile, winger Adam Gaudette remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He missed practice Saturday and Sunday, did not skate Tuesday and is a little more sore than expected, according to Warsofsky. It’s still unclear when he’ll return to practice.
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