How good, Rasmus Dahlin?

[dudacek]

The board has certainly done a good job at reining in the Rasmus Dahlin hype.

The point of this thread is to get your thoughts on record so we can get a sense of people's expectations for this season and for his career.

And so Liger or PA can resurrect it in five years and say "I told you so."

 

What say you?

Edited June 13, 2018 by dudacek

[darksabre]

Best Sabres defenseman of all time.

[bunomatic]

^

[Ogre]

I rarely vote in SS. This one was compelling. After all this hockey, he’d better have more in the tank(from the tank) than Campbell-esque. GD it! Jez sayin.

[dudacek]

I voted relatively conservatively for my expectations.

I will be surprised if Dahlin doesn't have a career at least as good as Brian Leetch.

It's that Peter Forsberg competitiveness that hooks me.

Edited June 13, 2018 by dudacek

[Taro T]

Best Sabres defenseman of all time.

Considering the competition for that title is Schoenfeld, Ramsey, Zhitnik, & 3 months of Tallinder prior to breaking his arm, he'd friggin' BETTER be that or he'll be the biggest bust since Jiri Dudacek.

 

(And yes, those 3-ish players were better Sabres than the 2 Sabres D-men that are in the HoF. :p )

[nfreeman]

40 pts and consensus best D of his generation.

 

Go big or go home.

[TrueBlueGED]

40 pts and consensus best D of his generation.

 

Go big or go home.

 

Ditto.

[WildCard]

40 pts and consensus best D of his generation.

 

Go big or go home.

Calder, 50pt season, consensus best defender ever

[TrueBlueGED]

40 pts and consensus best D of his generation.

 

Go big or go home.

 

Ditto.

 

 

Calder, 50pt season, consensus best defender ever

 

I think WildCard has bigger feet than Freeman and myself. Maybe bigger hands, too.

[drnkirishone]

I agree with the Wildcard

[nfreeman]

These kids today.

 

But everyone should read the link that Duda posted in the other thread. Even though it was probably written by Liger, it will still get you psyched for Dahlin.

[3putt]

I voted relatively conservatively for my expectations.

I will be surprised if Dahlin doesn't have a career at least as good as Brian Leetch.

It's that Peter Forsberg competitiveness that hooks me.

Brian Leetch is my comparable as well. He just looks like him the way he skates and takes angles. I would be happy with another Brian Leetch but Inthink this kid is expecting more of himself and isn’t distracted by much in his efforts to be the best he can be. I do expect growing pains next year and think the “looks poised option” is the most likely.

[Thorner]

It’s so hard to predict next season because so much depends on how good the team is.

 

Long term, provided Botterill sorts things out, I fully expect a talent of Dahlin’s caliber to be a perennial all-star and amoung the top 6 defencemen in the league consistently. I can hope for more, but I can’t expect it. Would not bet on him not becoming a top-level D in the league so could not pick an option lower than the second one.

[IKnowPhysics]

Best ever, ever.

[French Collection]

Brian Leetch is my comparable as well. He just looks like him the way he skates and takes angles. I would be happy with another Brian Leetch but Inthink this kid is expecting more of himself and isn’t distracted by much in his efforts to be the best he can be. I do expect growing pains next year and think the “looks poised option” is the most likely.

I hope he can generate offense like Leetch but has a much better defensive game.

I know Leetch is a HOFer but I always thought he was poor in his own end.

[Wyldnwoody44]

Does it matter.... Jack won't like him and pout until we trade him for a conditional 3rd and the rights to Babcock ;)

 

 

I expect him to be good for the next 2 season, not godlike, not amazing, but good, then in year 3 when the team doesn't suck so much, we see the Rasmus that we're hoping for

[Stoner]

Can anything other than a moribund franchise produce this sort of reaction? Would Hawk fans be talking like this? There's a whiff of desperation.

 

dudes, I object to being placed in the "I told you so" category. (Unless the "I told you so" would be "I told you not to count your chickens." I definitely won't be in the "I told you he'd suck" camp. I haven't said that, although I've definitely poked some people who've started counting the Norrises up.)

 

I guess I'm just agnostic on the guy. We'll see what happens. I'm hoping you're all right. I think a couple of things are driving this. I've noticed in the younger crowd that everything these days is "amazing." I have to try this recipe or that because it's "amazing." Superlatives have lost their meaning. There are too many "next big things."

 

Beyond that, there's the Internet, which allows hype to proliferate. Who benefits from this hype? Swedish hockey, the NHL, the Sabres, and of course Rasmus and his agent to some extent.

 

So, yeah, I'm an old guy shaking his fist at kids and their gizmos.

 

If this was 1987 and the Hockey News said it was so, I'd be very excited.

[LGR4GM]

He's got the offensive potential of Karlsson but the defensive potential of Lidstrom. If he reaches even 90% of his potential, he will be considered one of the best defenders ever. He's a hair under 6'3" and at 185lbs that means you're gonna see him jump to 205 or so when he's at his prime weight. There aren't going to be a many forwards who can out-muscle him and probably none who will outwork him. He doesn't make many mistakes twice. There will be growing pains in year 1 but he could also surprise us all. 

Edited June 13, 2018 by Skurk Liger

[TrueBlueGED]

Can anything other than a moribund franchise produce this sort of reaction? Would Hawk fans be talking like this? There's a whiff of desperation.

 

dudes, I object to being placed in the "I told you so" category. (Unless the "I told you so" would be "I told you not to count your chickens." I definitely won't be in the "I told you he'd suck" camp. I haven't said that, although I've definitely poked some people who've started counting the Norrises up.)

 

I guess I'm just agnostic on the guy. We'll see what happens. I'm hoping you're all right. I think a couple of things are driving this. I've noticed in the younger crowd that everything these days is "amazing." I have to try this recipe or that because it's "amazing." Superlatives have lost their meaning. There are too many "next big things."

 

Beyond that, there's the Internet, which allows hype to proliferate. Who benefits from this hype? Swedish hockey, the NHL, the Sabres, and of course Rasmus and his agent to some extent.

 

So, yeah, I'm an old guy shaking his fist at kids and their gizmos.

 

If this was 1987 and the Hockey News said it was so, I'd be very excited.

 

Unsurprisingly, you ignore the merits of today's information. Scouting is infinitely better than it was back in the 80s and 90s. The days of drafting Daigle #1 are gone.

[bob_sauve28]

Considering the competition for that title is Schoenfeld, Ramsey, Zhitnik, & 3 months of Tallinder prior to breaking his arm, he'd friggin' BETTER be that or he'll be the biggest bust since Jiri Dudacek.

 

(And yes, those 3-ish players were better Sabres than the 2 Sabres D-men that are in the HoF. :P )

Funny and sadly, true! 

[LTS]

I'm admittedly not certain who will be up for consideration for the Calder next year.  I mean, the Sabres should have two players at a minimum up for it right?  So their potential is tied to the Sabres turn around.

 

But, I think he'll be a very good defenseman next year.  I'm assuming he will get burned a few times as well.

 

Over time I think he will be considered one of the best D for the Sabres.  I am hoping he's an All-star but that event is so finicky that anything is possible.

 

I'm not going nuts over the guy until he starts showing it.  It's the best possible outcome for the Sabres, a team that needs defense, so in that regard as a fan we could ask for nothing more.  Let's hope it holds up.

[bob_sauve28]

Can anything other than a moribund franchise produce this sort of reaction? Would Hawk fans be talking like this? There's a whiff of desperation.

 

dudes, I object to being placed in the "I told you so" category. (Unless the "I told you so" would be "I told you not to count your chickens." I definitely won't be in the "I told you he'd suck" camp. I haven't said that, although I've definitely poked some people who've started counting the Norrises up.)

 

I guess I'm just agnostic on the guy. We'll see what happens. I'm hoping you're all right. I think a couple of things are driving this. I've noticed in the younger crowd that everything these days is "amazing." I have to try this recipe or that because it's "amazing." Superlatives have lost their meaning. There are too many "next big things."

 

Beyond that, there's the Internet, which allows hype to proliferate. Who benefits from this hype? Swedish hockey, the NHL, the Sabres, and of course Rasmus and his agent to some extent.

 

So, yeah, I'm an old guy shaking his fist at kids and their gizmos.

 

If this was 1987 and the Hockey News said it was so, I'd be very excited.

That's where I am. This time last year that's how I was on Middlesadt, (sic) but then I saw him play and the more I saw the more impressed I was. At this point I just don't have any real opinion because I am 100% ignorant of his play. 

[jsb]

I don't need him to be the GOAT or anything like that, I just want him to be really really good. My personal take for next year is that he'll make the usual rookie mistakes but he'll also wow you once in awhile with his play. I remember seeing Jack in Dallas his rookie year and him making a play (didn't score) but even the Stars fans were like WTF kinda move was that WOW. It was right in front of me and the Doohickie so it was especially sweet since we had our butts handed to us in that game. That's what I expect from the kid next year.

Edited June 13, 2018 by jsb

[nfreeman]

Unsurprisingly, you ignore the merits of today's information. Scouting is infinitely better than it was back in the 80s and 90s. The days of drafting Daigle #1 are gone.

Well, Yakupov went #1 not long ago, as did Anthony Bennett in the NBA.