BY WARREN KOZIRESKI – DALLAS, TX —
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Buffalo Sabres made Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin the first overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in Dallas. Dahlin becomes the third Sabres to be selected first overall along with Gilbert Perreault and Pierre Turgeon.
The 6’2”, 183 lb. left shot finished this season with seven goals and 20 points playing against men with Frolunda and added six assists with a silver medal over seven games at the U-20 World Junior tournament in Buffalo. He was also one of the youngest players on any roster for the Winter Olympics in Korea.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Dahlin said in the draft media room. “I’ve been like finally, yeah, put on the Buffalo Sabres jersey. I’ve been there twice and I love that city. I can’t wait to get everything started. I was kind of nervous. It was amazing when I heard my name.
Dahlin brings an offensive skillset to the Sabres blueline. There are multiple videos of him online making fore-checkers look silly as he danced around them with the puck.
“That’s a fun style to play, but if he was saying that we are playing a slow game, I would do that, too. I will do whatever the coach says.
The native of Trollhatten, Sweden is looking forward to the fans in the city of Buffalo, especially after two trips there over the past six months.
“Yeah, they are great fans. I heard so many great things about them. Like they love hockey in that city and I can see that, when they come to me, they know me and I don’t even play in the NHL. So they probably love hockey. I’ve heard so many great things about them. I’m super excited to meet all the fans.
“It’s not the biggest city but I came from a small city, so I’m used to that size, so that’s amazing.”
Asked if he thinks he can make an impact next season, he responded, “I really hope so. I will try 100 percent to do that.”
(Photo By Janet Schultz)
