Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--LHD, Rasmus Dahlin

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-7-2018


LHD--Rasmus Dahlin
18 yrs. old
6'2" 181 lbs.
2018 first-overall


This should be the one and only time that Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will be placed this low in the lineup heading into a season. Dahlin, the first-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is a defenseman the likes of which Buffalo hasn't seen in decades and beginning sometime this season, we'll see him on the top-pairing logging big minutes for the Sabres.

The only comparable defense prospect to Dahlin in Buffalo would be Phil Housley, drafted out of St. Paul High School, Minnesota. The 18 yr. old Housley was a pure offensive dynamo from the blueline who's 338 goals and 1232 points helped punch his ticket to the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, his offensive prowess was directly proportionate to his defensive liabilities to the point where early in his career he was so bad on defense that Hall of Fame head coach Scotty Bowman moved him to wing where he scored a chunk of his points during his eight-year playing career in Buffalo.

Other than that, some of the Sabres top defensemen throughout their history include Jim Schoenfeld, Mike Ramsey, Jerry "King Kong" Korab and Brain Campbell all of whom played very well for Buffalo, but none of whom were considered close to elite.

Buffalo got lucky when the ping pong balls fell their way at the 2018 draft lottery. With Sabres logo in hand, Buffalo GM Jason Botterill stood on stage while Sabreland had visions of Dahlin dancing in their heads. Sure, none had seen him live, but the highlights were full of jaw-dropping moments see below) with some saying that Dahlin could be the best defenseman to hit the NHL since Hall of Famer Denis Potvin who lead the NY Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups (1980-83.) Potvin's Legends of Hockey bio at the Hockey Hall of Fame website noted that he was the first defenseman to score over 1,000 points and is considered "one of the most complete bluliners ever to step on the ice."

When Dahlin hit the ice in Buffalo for development camp the skills he displayed were that of a forward with skating that was fluid and fast. For those who were seeing him for the first time live, it was a wonder to behold his hip movement, stickwork and angles on defense showing that he's not just a pure offensive-defenseman.

As an 18 yr. old rookie, Dahlin will have a lot to work on and will go through a lot of growing pains but his skating alone will ease the workload and dull some of the pains. Tonight he begins his career in the Blue and Gold skating on Buffalo's top-pairing in the annual Sabres Prospect Challenge. This will be an opportunity for him to show where he stands along side his peers as prospects from three other NHL teams--the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins--battle in a round-robin event at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo.

Dahlin has been playing against men in Sweden's top professional league for the last two seasons and finished his SHL career with a seven-goal, 20-point season prior to Buffalo drafting him. He has a poised demeanor on the ice (and off the ice as well,) projecting a confidence in himself and his skill-level. There's no reason to think that all of his traits won't be on display beginning 7 pm tonight when the Sabres prospects take on their counterparts from New Jersey.

It's the type of tournament that he should dominate. Even if he doesn't today or at any point in the tournament, it's only a matter of time. Hockey, unlike other North American pro sports, is usually spot on when they dub draft prospects as franchise-changers. They don't come along that often but when they do if you're lucky you'll be in the position to land one.

And Buffalo certainly was lucky to land Dahlin.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Kyle Okposo

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
LHD, Rasmus Dahlin /

G, Carter Hutton



For those who have missed Dahlin's highlights here's some of them from on YouTube from Krypts:






*****

Rochester Americans head coach Chris Taylor is in charge of the prospects for The Challenge and according to sabres.com, here were his lines and pairings from practice yesterday:

Forwards

41 Victor Olofsson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
92 Alex Nylander - 74 Rasmus Asplund - 52 Andrew Oglevie
83 Shane Eiserman - 77 Vasily Glotov - 75 Judd Peterson
73 Matej Pekar - 86 Kevin Hancock - 79 Cole Coskey
76 Pascal Aquin - 78 Myles Powell - 46 Eric Cornel


Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin - 33 William Borgen
45 Brendan Guhle - 67 Arvin Atwal
44 Brandon Hickey - 58 Oskari Laaksonen
24 Lawrence Pilut - 84 Nicholas Welsh
61 Devante Stephens - 70 Tobie Bisson


Goalies

34 Jonas Johansson
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen