With October winding down, the Sharks have some interesting decisions coming up regarding Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson and their ELC contracts. CHL players 19 or under have to be returned to the CHL for a full season if they are not on an NHL roster. Additionally, the San Jose Sharks sit at 49 contracts, not including Misa or Dickinson, who won't be converted to standard contracts until they reach nine games. NHL teams are only allowed 50 standard contracts.
Let's start with the easier decision of the two in Michael Misa. Drafted 2nd overall in last year's draft, the 18-year-old center has transitioned nicely with 3 points in 6 games, and is looking comfortable down the middle to start his career. He has already established himself as one of the Sharks' top 3 centers, and it would be extremely unexpected if the Sharks return him to juniors at this point. Especially considering the leash they gave Will Smith last year after his slow start, even having the ability to assign him to the AHL. So, let’s assume Misa remains with the Sharks and takes up the 50th contract slot.
This makes an even more complicated decision with the Sharks' other rookie teenager, Sam Dickinson. Dickinson has had many ups and downs throughout the first month, and while there have been solid moments and games here and there, the struggles have been evident. In a perfect world, Dickinson could get a long look with the Barracuda in the AHL, but that isn’t possible. Meanwhile, the CHL also comes with its share of risks. Dickinson completely dominated the OHL last season and has little challenge for growth if he plays another junior season. No matter what choice the Sharks make, there is going to be risk, so there is no real wrong answer. Management will be praised either way if they get it right and panned if they don’t. One thing I will say is that if they continue to commit to Dickinson in the NHL this season, they need to play him more than the 12 minutes a game he has been getting to this point and roll with the mistakes as they happen and correct along the way, similar to how they developed Smith last season. It's hard for Dickinson to gain much confidence if he isn’t being put in opportunities to excel. Currently, his best asset is his offense. He is one of the better puck movers on the backend, and he has the tools to be successful on the power play with his shot from the point. If the Sharks are going to continue utilizing Dickinson on the bottom pairing, it may be better to send him back to Junior and let him play big minutes, even if the competition is not where it needs to be.
If they do keep Dickinson and Misa, waiving the recent addition of Vincent Iorio would be an easy fix to make space on the roster. The Capitals would likely reclaim the young defender off waivers, and with the Sharks' defense getting healthier, they have an abundance of defensive depth. While Iorio hasn’t been horrible in his short stint with the Sharks, he hasn’t established himself as a bona fide NHLer by any means and wouldn’t be a huge loss.