It’s recommended fans line up early tonight as London Knights to give away Sam Dickinson bobblehead

If you're one of the first 1,000 London Knights fans at Canada Life Place Wednesday, you could score an exclusive souvenir.

London Knights fans who want a souvenir bobblehead might want to get out of work early Wednesday.

The OHL club will give away a Sam Dickinson bobblehead to the first 1,000 fans ahead of their game against the Guelph Storm at Canada Life Place.

If the past is any indication, there will be people lining up outside of the arena by early afternoon.

“It’s always exciting,” said Alex Brown, Knights’ director of Marketing. “We’ve done three bobbleheads now, and every year it gets more and more exciting. This year we had a couple teasers of who it was going to be, and the fans all have their chance to give us input. We’ve announced the Sam Dickinson bobblehead this year.”

Choosing Dickinson was a wise move. At the time of the decision, either he would stick with the San Jose Sharks and it would honour his seasons in London, or he would return and would have been the Knights’ best player.

Dickinson has played 45 games in his NHL rookie season with one goal and eight assists.

“I think if you look at the stats, he’s one of the greatest Knights’ defensemen of all time,” said Brown of Dickinson, who scored 184 points in three seasons with London and won two OHL titles.

“Of course he capped off last year with the Memorial Cup. It’s cool and it’s unique to have the Memorial Cup that he’s holding with the bobblehead,” added Brown.

With a venue that holds more than 9,000 fans, only 1,000 will get their hands on the giveaway.

“You see it in the NHL and you see it in pro sports,” Brown said about the popularity of the souvenir. “We brought that here to London and it’s gone over very, very well since Mitch Marner then Easton Cowan, and now Sam Dickinson. It’s going to become a collectible for our fans.”