The ECHL can feel an awfully long way from the NHL.
It’s a level lower than the AHL, which can already present challenges in reaching the highest level of hockey. But in the ECHL? Well, unless you’re a goaltender, the odds are not good for ever reaching the NHL. Of the top 100 scorers in the ECHL last season, only one is under contract with an NHL team this season. The top scorer in the league last year was a 30-year-old who has only played 28 games in the AHL and none in the NHL.
So yeah, the odds are long that Blues prospect Tanner Dickinson can reach the NHL.
Dickinson, a fourth-round pick by the Blues in 2020, completed his first full season of professional hockey in the spring, playing 45 games for Orlando in the ECHL and an additional 17 for Springfield (Massachusetts) in the AHL. It was Dickinson’s first game action since the 2021-22 season, when he suffered a broken femur during his final year of junior hockey.
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“It was a lot of learning experiences,†Dickinson said during the team’s development camp last month. “Obviously, with all that time off, just being home, I wasn’t around the team environment for a while. It was a great learning experience for me, and I picked up a lot of things — how guys handle themselves off the ice, that matters as well.
“It’s not all (about) the on-ice stuff. It’s about how you treat yourself off the ice. I’m looking forward to this next season. I think I picked up a lot of good tools to help me have a lot of success this season.â€
In the ECHL, Dickinson had eight goals and 18 assists while he was a contributor on Orlando’s power-play unit. He had three goals and one assist in the AHL while primarily playing fourth-line minutes with AHL-contracted players such as Joey Duszak, Mitch Hoelscher and Sam Bitten.
Dickinson was also a scratch nine times in the AHL.
“A lot of the guys in the American League can be in the NHL the next night,†Dickinson said. “It was a good experience for me in terms of playing against guys who could be in the NHL next season or that season. It was good to learn from those guys as well.â€
In the upcoming season, Dickinson looks to cement his spot in the AHL instead of a return trip to the ECHL and new affiliate Florida, which has won the past three league championships.
Dickinson will have to deal with the potential arrivals of Dalibor Dvorsky and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki in Springfield, along with the confirmed additions of Marcus Sylvegard and Dylan Peterson. If Zack Bolduc, Zach Dean, Nikita Alexandrov or Mackenzie MacEachern don’t make the NHL roster, they will be AHL-bound as well.
Dickinson said he learned lessons from his time in Orlando and Springfield.
“Just making sure you’re getting a good enough amount of sleep, eating right, little things,†Dickinson said. “If it’s a day off, do something active recovery-wise, don’t just lay around. All that stuff adds up at the end of the day.â€
Dickinson, speedy left-handed center, missed the entire 2022-23 season due to his injury, which he rehabbed from back home near Toledo, Ohio. That was supposed to be his first year of professional hockey but was instead spent away from the ice.
Dickinson said he had to work on getting his muscle memory back.
“A lot of things I do are just natural reaction, and it’s a big part of my game, just playing fast and making plays at a high level of speed,†Dickinson said. “A lot of muscle memory just building back up after all that time off.â€
At times across the past two years of development camps, Dickinson has flashed his skills. This year, it was when he was playing with Blues first-round picks like Jimmy Snuggerud and Otto Stenberg.