Dickinson embraces new home after surprise deal
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson is like the new kid at school, only he has exams the first day.
“Lot of information, lot of learning, but it’s been good so far,” said Dickinson, who was acquired Oct. 7 from the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Riley Stillman and a 2024 second-round pick.
“Honestly I didn’t see it coming,” he told reporters at SAP Center hours before his first Blackhawks game against the San Jose Sharks. “I’d heard rumblings there were cap issues for Vancouver and they had to move pieces to get out of the cap, so I guess I fit that bill.”
Dickinson carries a cap hit of $2.65 million, and the swap for Stillman saved the Canucks $1.3 million.
Dickinson couldn’t join the Hawks for several days in part because the local immigration office was closed for the weekend.
“Those days sucked,” he said. “It just felt like I had no control, there was nothing I could do. I was just sitting around waiting for something to happen, to be told what I could do. You sit there and try to prepare as best I can, stay in shape and stick with the things that I’d been doing,
because I’d been ramping up for the start of the season and it came to a screeching halt.”
While he waited, Dickinson went on a cram session to learn his new team’s systems.
“I watched the games,” he said. “I tried to learn, but mistakes happen, so I could be watching things and thinking this is what’s supposed to happen, and it could’ve been totally wrong. … But I got to watch some video this morning with the coaching staff and go over a lot of the systems and learn what they’re looking for.”
Coach Luke Richardson said the team “didn’t want to overload him this morning.”
“We’ll just ask questions and answer things along the way. That’s normal,” Richardson said.
What the Hawks are looking for from Dickinson is a penalty killer and forechecker.
“The first thing they showed me in the video clips was the forecheck,” Dickinson said. “That was Point 1: ‘This is how we want to forecheck, we want to be aggressive, we want to get on them and eliminate time and space.’
“I love the sounds of that.”
Said Richardson: “He’s a big body and he skates well. Versatile guy that can play probably any position up front and help out on the penalty kill. We want to be aggressive up ice. … I think he’ll give us another dimension.”
Dickinson at times thrived in three seasons with the Dallas Stars. He had a total of five goals and four assists in 40 postseason games from 2018—20.
He hardly had a honeymoon period with the Canucks last season, taking some heat for some of the team’s shortcomings, such as the second-to-last-ranked penalty kill (74.9%).
“Just outside noise,” he said of the criticism. “Letting too much get to me and putting a ton of pressure on myself. It never goes well when you start thinking too much.
“I let a lot get to me last year and I wasn’t able to compartmentalize and shut things out. That’s what was good for me in Dallas. I was able to just shut off and not think, just play. And that’s all I’ve got to do (with the Hawks).”