“You can’t even put into words quite how hard it is.”

That’s how Sam Dickinson described playing in the NHL, comparing to other leagues that he’s played in.

But if not words, how about a number?

How many times harder is it to play in the NHL compared to the OHL?

The top San Jose Sharks prospect tried to measure, in the simplest possible way, a 1-10 scale, how challenging his many different levels of play have been over the last six months, the OHL and the London Knights, development camp, the Rookie Faceoff, training camp scrimmages, pre-season games, and finally, the NHL.

This was an unusual exercise, but the affable and thoughtful Dickinson was up to the task of trying to quantify how many levels up that he’s playing now from juniors.