Dillon has made a career out of overcoming the odds after being told he wouldn't measure up.
At 5-foot-2, Dillon wasn't selected in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, but he played four seasons with Seattle of the WHL, captained the team in 2010-11 and grew a foot taller during his junior days.
Dillon has made a career out of overcoming the odds after being told he wouldn't measure up.
At 5-foot-2, Dillon wasn't selected in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, but he played four seasons with Seattle of the WHL, captained the team in 2010-11 and grew a foot taller during his junior days.
Still, Dillon was passed over in the NHL Draft. But after he had 51 assists in his final season with Seattle, the Dallas Stars signed him to an entry-level contract. He played three seasons with Texas of the American Hockey League before making his NHL debut in the Stars' final game of the 2011-12 season.
The New Westminster, British Columbia, native broke through as an NHL regular in 2012-13, playing 48 games, registering 133 hits and becoming the first defenseman in Stars history to have a Gordie Howe hat trick: scoring a goal (his first in the NHL), getting an assist and a fighting major on Feb. 1, 2013, against the Phoenix Coyotes. At the end of the season, Dillon was picked to play for Canada at the IIHF World Championship.
Having grown into a 6-foot-4, 225-pound presence, Dillon led Dallas with 165 hits and led Stars defensemen in penalty minutes with 86 in the 2013-14 season.
Twenty games into the 2014-15 season, Dillon was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Jason Demers and a 2016 third-round draft pick. Dillon made his San Jose debut Nov. 22, 2014, against the Arizona Coyotes. The Sharks showed their faith in Dillon after the season, signing him to a five-year contract on June 30, 2015.
He had arguably his best season in 2018-19, finishing with 22 points (one goal, 21 assists) and an NHL career-best plus-19 rating. But with the Sharks struggling as the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline approached, they opted to build for the future and traded Dillon to the Washington Capitals on Feb. 18, 2020.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Signed as a free agent by Dallas, March 1, 2011.
- Traded to San Jose by Dallas for Jason Demers and San Jose's 3rd round pick (Fredrik Karlstrom) in 2016 NHL Draft, November 21, 2014.
- Traded to Washington by San Jose for a 2nd-round pick in 2020 NHL Draft and a conditional pick in 2021 NHL Draft, February 18, 2020.
