Prospect Update: Rodwin Dionicio

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks chose defenseman Rodwin Dionicio in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 129th overall. He played for both the Windsor Spitfires and Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, as well as team Switzerland at the World Juniors this past season.

Dionicio started the year with Windsor, where he scored five goals and 20 points in 16 games. He was then traded to Saginaw in November. With his new team, Dionicio scored 20 goals and 53 points in 44 games. The Spirit made the playoffs and Dionicio kept up his torrid offense pace in the postseason, recording five goals and 17 points in 17 games. Saginaw made it to the conference finals where they lost to the London Knights in six games. However, Saginaw was the host of the 2024 Memorial Cup and automatically qualified for the tournament. Dionico played in all five games at the Memorial Cup Tournament, scoring a goal and five points, and helping Saginaw win the Memorial Cup. Saginaw avenged their conference finals loss by defeating London in the Memorial Cup Final.

At the World Juniors, Dionico played in five games for Switzerland and scored two goals and four points in five games. Switzerland finished fourth in Group B and qualified for the playoff round. They lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals 3-2 in overtime. Sweden went on to win the silver medal in the tournament. Dionicio tied for the team lead in goals and finished third in points.

Dionicio is a high-end offensive defenseman. During a stretch in February, he scored seven goals and 17 points in seven games, including a career high five-point night. He was named the OHL player of the week when he scored three goals and nine points in that stretch. Like many young defensemen, Dionicio needs to work on his overall defensive game, but took significant steps in that direction this season.

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Dionicio signed a three-year contract to play in the NL with Biel-Bienne back in January. However, it’s not a guarantee that he plays there next season. He signed his entry-level deal with Anaheim in May, but it contains a European Assignment Clause. Which means he could go play in the NL if he doesn’t make Anaheim’s roster, or he could go to the AHL instead. Personally, I think if he doesn’t make the NHL roster, he’ll likely play in the NL this coming year, before playing in the AHL for the 2025-2026 season, but it wouldn’t shock me if he plays for the Gulls this year. Either way, I don’t expect him to play for the Ducks this season.

Regardless of NL or AHL, I have a few expectations for Dionicio. He’ll be joining a new team, a new league, and facing a new level of competition. First, I want him to play in a majority of his team’s games. Second, for him to continue to produce offensively at a high level. Finally, for his defensive game to continue to improve.

Dionicio is still a number of years away from making it to the NHL. I think he’ll spend next year in the NL, and then come to North America to play in the AHL for a year or two. So the earliest we could see him in Anaheim is probably the 2026-2027 season. Also, Anaheim has several young defensemen already on their roster, with a number of others who will also be fighting for playing time in the coming years. Dionicio is a very gifted offensive player, but needs to better round out his game going forward if he wants to make it to the NHL.

Dionicio is currently signed to a standard three-year entry-level contract with Anaheim. It will begin when he starts playing games in North America. When it’s over, he’ll be a restricted free agent. Given how deep Anaheim’s prospect defensive pool is, it’s difficult to judge exactly where he’ll be at in his career when his contract is up. Part of that will likely come down to when he comes to North America, and where the Ducks’ defense is at the time. He’ll likely be re-signed when his entry-level deal is over, but he’ll probably need to play in some NHL games to make sure that happens.

The next prospect update will be on forward Josh Lopina.

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September 5th, 2024