Sam Dickinson will now be in San Jose all season?
It’s trending in that direction, after Puckpedia revealed exact details of the new NHL-NHLPA CBA agreement.
There’s a provision in the new CBA that will allow NHL teams to send one 19-year-old prospect to the AHL. Originally, belief was that this rule would be instituted for the 2026-27 campaign. But Puckpedia has disclosed that this provision could now be in place for 2025-26.
Puckpedia did note that while the NHL and NHLPA have agreed to this, the AHL and CHL have to rubber stamp it too.
But assuming it goes through, that’s outstanding news for the San Jose Sharks and the San Jose Barracuda and Dickinson.
The Sharks’ 2024 No. 11 pick was CHL Defenseman of the Year last season, and consensus is, the 6-foot-4 defenseman has outgrown that league. But under the old CBA, Dickinson was stuck between a rock and a hard place, developmentally, if he wasn’t NHL-ready this season.
This fall, Dickinson would have had nine NHL games to prove that he belongs, then the San Jose Sharks would have had to decide whether or not the send him back to the CHL and the London Knights. Nine-or-fewer NHL contests mean that Dickinson’s contract would slide to next year, meaning it would start next season instead. 10-or-more NHL games mean that Dickinson’s contract would start in 2025-26, a year burned off this three-year ELC.
The Sharks also now have the flexibility to not burn a year of Dickinson’s contract by sending him to the AHL, a league that’s likely better for his development than the CHL.
And that’s the point. For the San Jose Sharks and Dickinson, this rule being instituted a year earlier gives the organization more flexibility and is ultimately better for the star prospect’s development.