The Edmonton Oilers solidified their depth at centre when they re-signed Jason Dickinson to a five-year deal in June worth $4 million per season.

Dickinson was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks just before the trade deadline last March, and he immediately brought his defensive savvy down the middle, while giving Oilers fans a glimpse of his offensive touch in the playoffs.

With that in mind, as Dickinson officially calls Oilersnation home for the foreseeable future, let’s take a closer look at five interesting facts about the veteran centreman that you may not know.

Dickinson is well known for his defensive smarts on the ice, consistently shutting down the opposition’s best lines, which is a big reason why the Oilers locked him up to a five-year deal in June.

But did you know Dickinson was known for his smarts off the ice as well?

Dickinson played junior hockey with the Guelph Storm from 2011-2015, and in February 2013, he was named the OHL Academic Player of the Month for demonstrating excellence both on and off the ice. CHL.ca described Dickinson as a “self-motivated and disciplined learner” who was a quiet leader in the classroom.

His teachers described him as a “great student” who was focused, responsible, and respectful, while he maintained an 82% average in his Grade 12 university preparation courses.

Also, Dickinson received further academic recognition when he was awarded the Storm’s Paul Fendley Memorial Scholastic Player of the Year Award in 2013, given to the player who best combines academic achievement, hard work in the classroom, and success on the ice.

Additionally, throughout his Guelph Storm career, Dickinson was also recognized for his involvement in the community, becoming an active participant in the team’s Read to Succeed and FunFit programs, visiting schools throughout Guelph and Wellington County.

Dickinson tallied 231 points in 253 regular-season games with the Storm and put on a stellar performance in the 2014 postseason, registering 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 20 playoff games while playing a pivotal role in helping the Storm win the 2014 OHL Championship.

After that season, the team named Dickinson the 25th captain in franchise history for the 2014-15 campaign.

Following the announcement, Dickinson said, “It’s an honour to be named captain of such a great organization.” He added, “I pride myself on leadership ability.”

That leadership ability didn’t stop in junior hockey. The centreman carried those same qualities into the NHL, and with the Chicago Blackhawks, Dickinson was temporarily named an alternate captain in 2023, a role that eventually turned into a full-time position as he wore the ‘A’ on his jersey until he was traded to Edmonton.

Dickinson grew up in Georgetown, ON, which is about a 45-minute drive from Toronto. Despite living in the Toronto area, The Athletic mentioned in 2018 that a young Dickinson actually grew up as an Ottawa Senators fan.

And as a Senators fan, he idolized centreman Jason Spezza, who played for Ottawa from 2005-2012 and recorded a career-high 92 points during the 2007-08 season. Dickinson was such a fan of Spezza, as Sean Shapiro noted in 2019, that when he was 12 years old, his uncle, an artist, was going to paint a mural on one of the walls in his basement. Dickinson said, “I wanted the mural on my wall, and I wanted it to have a Senators logo. And the one name I requested was Jason Spezza.”

Then, in almost a full-circle type of way, Dickinson had the opportunity to play with his childhood idol from 2017-2019 as a member of the Dallas Stars. According to Natural Stat Trick, Dickinson and Spezza played a combined 120:34 minutes together from 2017-2019, while combining for three goals.

Some people are lucky enough to meet their childhood idols. Dickinson was lucky enough to call his a teammate.

The Georgetown, ON native was drafted by the Stars in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft. After being selected, he played the following two seasons with his junior club before spending a season in the AHL, eventually making his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season.

Dickinson waited several months into the 2015-16 season for his NHL opportunity, and that opportunity came in an ironic twist of fate.

An illness to his childhood idol, Jason Spezza, opened up a spot in the lineup, and Dickinson was recalled from the AHL on April 7, 2016, making his NHL debut against the Colorado Avalanche.

Dickinson scored on his first shot, which deflected off Tyson Barrie’s stick and beat Calvin Pickard, whom he was briefly teammates with on the Oilers in 2025-26. After the centreman scored, he described his chance in front of the net at the time, saying he had just one thought: “Just don’t miss.”

Thereafter, Dickinson was eventually traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in October 2022 after six seasons in Dallas and just one season with the Vancouver Canucks. That said, he made an immediate impact in his Blackhawks debut on Oct. 15, 2022, scoring a goal and recording a three-point night in a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.

When he was traded to the Oilers, he didn’t score in his regular-season debut, but boy, did he ever make an impression in his playoff debut while sporting the orange and blue.

Dickinson kickstarted the Oilers’ 2026 playoffs by scoring a breakaway beauty with around two minutes remaining in the first period of Game 1. He scored his second goal of the night to tie the game in the third period, helping lead the Oilers to a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

Dickinson played a grand total of 12:37 minutes with Connor McDavid during the regular season with the Oilers in 2025-26 and played just over a minute together in the playoffs. However, last season wasn’t the first time the two NHL veterans had played together.

Both Dickinson and McDavid were selected to represent Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championship, which took place in Sochi, Russia. That said, Dickinson got an early glimpse of the greatness of his future NHL teammate, McDavid, who was just 16 years old and the youngest player at the tournament.

Dickinson played in three games for Team Canada, recording one assist in the tournament. Fittingly, that assist came on a goal by his future captain, McDavid, in a 3-1 win over Germany.

McDavid played in seven games, led the tournament with 14 points (eight goals, six assists), and was named the top forward and most valuable player while helping Team Canada win the gold medal.

Now, the Oilers are hoping history repeats itself, crossing their fingers that McDavid and Dickinson once again become champions together, this time by winning a Stanley Cup in Edmonton.

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