Brenden Dillon
Dilly, Dilly!
The popular chant lives on, but Brenden Dillon’s physical presence and defensive capabilities has not lived up to the hype it deserves during his career year.
Dillon ate up minutes big time for Team Teal with his heavy hitting and drive to compete every night he took the ice. As a primary partner on the final blue line pairing, Dillon was one of two San Jose Sharks defensemen to play in all 82 games alongside Brent Burns.
In his fifth season with the Sharks, Dillon recorded a career-high 21 assists. Accompanying his lone goal, which was a key short-handed tally against the Nashville Predators that sparked the 5-4 comeback victory at Bridgestone Arena, Dillon tied a career-high point total of 22 points, which he set last season.
With Karlsson’s recent absence, Dillon has earned more shifts, which has resulted in an increased TOI for No. 4, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game – three more minutes then his regular season average.
Now, with EK65 back in the lineup for the playoffs, the two will be a dynamic duo when they resume action together in the first round against the Golden Knights.