The Sharks listed defenseman Jack Thompson on injured reserve when releasing the opening day roster they registered last night, per Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest. It’s not clear what he’s dealing with, but his placement does create an open roster spot that San Jose is giving to top defense prospect Sam Dickinson.
It’s an extremely late save for Dickinson’s spot on the active roster. The Sharks’ waiver activity over the weekend would have left them with no other option than to return Dickinson to OHL London yesterday to get down to 23 players had Thompson not sustained an injury. He did not dress for their preseason finale against the Mammoth on Saturday and appeared to leave their Friday win over the Golden Knights early, only registering 10:10 of ice time.
It’s understandable why the Sharks wouldn’t have wanted to expose Thompson to waivers. The 23-year-old was acquired from the Lightning in 2024’s Anthony Duclair trade, and he worked his way into 31 appearances for San Jose last year after only making three the season prior. The offensively skilled righty managed four goals and six assists for 10 points with a -9 rating, averaging 15:47 per game. He got some power-play looks and had solid possession impacts in his sheltered even-strength duties, logging a 45.4 CF% and 50.4 xGF%.
Thompson signed a one-year, two-way deal as a restricted free agent this summer, paying him $800K in the NHL. His pathway to regular playing time upon returning to health isn’t clear. Including Dickinson, the club has four new faces on its blue line after signing John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov in free agency and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers. There’s also Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin on the active roster in addition to San Jose’s projected top pair of Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren. Thompson could see more looks in the lineup later on in the season if the still-rebuilding Sharks trade one of their veterans, namely Ferraro, but it might be tough sledding for the Ontario native early on.
One thing is for sure – the Sharks aren’t keeping Dickinson around to sit him in the press box. The 2024 No. 11 overall pick arrives in the NHL and is ticketed to make his debut when San Jose opens its season on Thursday against Vegas. The 6’3″ lefty will do so on the heels of a spectacular junior career with London, where he won back-to-back championships and was named the CHL’s Defenseman of the Year in 2024-25. He’s nearly a point-per-game for his junior career and exploded for a 29-62–91 scoring line in just 55 regular-season contests last year.
If Dickinson doesn’t stick around, the Sharks won’t be able to send him to their AHL affiliate unless it’s for conditioning. He’ll need to return to London if it’s a full-time demotion, something the Sharks weren’t keen on doing to risk overbaking him. Dickinson averaged nearly 20 minutes per game across five preseason appearances for the Sharks, notching a pair of primary assists.