Dahlin poised to become the highest scoring teenage defenceman ever

[dudacek]

His next point will be his 80th passing Ray Bourque.

(Housley had more, but a bunch were scored as a forward)

His points per game is tied with Erik Karlsson for 12th in the league right now, better than Yandle, Burns, Werenski, Webber, Theodore, Suter, Reilly, Klingberg, Chabot, Barrie, Jones, Fowler, Giordano... He has points (14 of them) in 12 of his past 15 games. The Sabres are 10-6 in the 16 games he’s played this calendar year. His turnovers have dropped noticeably and the passes he makes are insane.

He is still a boy and sometimes he plays like a boy. But instead of getting frustrated, think about how far Eichel has come since he was 19.

He’s going to be something special.

Edited February 17, 2020 by dudacek

[French Collection]

Yeah, I like his game and where he is heading.

I think his offensive numbers will put him in the Norris conversation in a couple of years. I haven’t bought a jersey in years but it will be 26 on the next one.

I love what Eichel is doing but I have a soft spot for Dmen.

[Thorner]

Yup, he’s becoming, and will be, a steadfast difference maker on our blue line. 

The type we’ll be happy plays D in a few years when that allows him to munch 30 mins a night in key playoff contests. 

[Andrew Amerk]

Dahlin appears primed to become a great defenseman for us. 

Who would you say was the last “great” defenseman we had on our roster?

[Taro T]

13 minutes ago, dudacek said:

His next point will be his 80th passing Ray Bourque.

(Housley had more, but a bunch were scored as a forward)

His points per game is tied with Erik Karlsson for 12th in the league right now, better than Yandle, Burns, Werenski, Webber, Theodore, Suter, Reilly, Klingberg, Chabot, Barrie, Jones, Fowler, Giordano... He has points (14 of them) in 12 of his past 15 games. The Sabres are 10-6 in the 16 games he’s played this calendar year. His turnovers have dropped noticeably and the passes he makes are insane.

He is still a boy and sometimes he plays like a boy. But instead of getting frustrated, think about how far Eichel has come since he was 19.

He’s going to be something special.

You nuts?  If by 19 he isn't outperforming Potvin in his prime, then he will never be better than Beaulieu.  /sarcasm

[dudacek]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Amerk said:

Dahlin appears primed to become a great defenseman for us. 

Who would you say was the last “great” defenseman we had on our roster?

Sabres have had a lot of good defencemen, but they have never had a great one, a true number one.

I’ll probably get some pushback on this, but I think in 10 years there is a good chance we are saying that two of the four best Sabres of all-time are playing for us right now, and Rasmus will be one of them. He can be that good.

Edited February 17, 2020 by dudacek

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Andrew Amerk said:

Dahlin appears primed to become a great defenseman for us. 

Who would you say was the last “great” defenseman we had on our roster?

Sabres have never had 1.  All of their top D have had at minimum a major flaw: Schoenfeld,  Guevremont, Hajt, Ramsey, Svoboda, Housley, Tallinder, Zhitnik, Campbell, Myers, etc.  Dahlin might actually become a true 1.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

I’m glad we’re back to this. Never doubted the kid. 

We never left it.  He WILL be the best Sabres D-man ever.

But he isn't the best Sabres D-man on this roster.  That seems to be the disconnect.  (And within 2 years he will be the best current Sabres D-man & it won't take him much time beyond that to be their best ever.z)

[Tondas]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

His next point will be his 80th passing Ray Bourque.

(Housley had more, but a bunch were scored as a forward)

His points per game is tied with Erik Karlsson for 12th in the league right now, better than Yandle, Burns, Werenski, Webber, Theodore, Suter, Reilly, Klingberg, Chabot, Barrie, Jones, Fowler, Giordano... He has points (14 of them) in 12 of his past 15 games. The Sabres are 10-6 in the 16 games he’s played this calendar year. His turnovers have dropped noticeably and the passes he makes are insane.

He is still a boy and sometimes he plays like a boy. But instead of getting frustrated, think about how far Eichel has come since he was 19.

He’s going to be something special.

I'd like for the NHL to go back and see how many points Housley scored while a D-Man and subtract the forward points.  Still, surpassing Borque and Orr is nothing to sneeze at.

[PerreaultForever]

The game changes so much I never like to compare players from different eras so I dunno about best ever or any of that but I am sure if he keeps developing and fully matures into a man's body and not a boy's he will be a Norris winner one day. I've said it before, 22 or 23, that's when we should really start to see the full deal, not before.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

His next point will be his 80th passing Ray Bourque.

(Housley had more, but a bunch were scored as a forward)

His points per game is tied with Erik Karlsson for 12th in the league right now, better than Yandle, Burns, Werenski, Webber, Theodore, Suter, Reilly, Klingberg, Chabot, Barrie, Jones, Fowler, Giordano... He has points (14 of them) in 12 of his past 15 games. The Sabres are 10-6 in the 16 games he’s played this calendar year. His turnovers have dropped noticeably and the passes he makes are insane.

He is still a boy and sometimes he plays like a boy. But instead of getting frustrated, think about how far Eichel has come since he was 19.

He’s going to be something special.

In the other thread you said he was comparable to Miller.  Make up your mind.

[Kristian]

And the fact that he’s doing this on a team with some dramatically unbalanced offense, is impressive.

[New Guy]

We are so lucky to have been in position to take him

I'm not one to pick favorites but this guy is my favorite player and will be for a long time. He's already such a damn good skater, makes incredible subtle moves nearly every game, and will only continue to have a higher trajectory for years to come and I'm giddy thinking about it. 

Edited February 17, 2020 by New Guy

[Pimlach]

Fans that complain about his game amaze me.  He is getting more consistent and he will only become more dominant.  

Edited February 17, 2020 by Pimlach

[TrueBlueGED]

Yea, but when was the last time he cross checked someone after the play? Trade the soft bum. 

[LTS]

8 hours ago, dudacek said:

His next point will be his 80th passing Ray Bourque.

(Housley had more, but a bunch were scored as a forward)

His points per game is tied with Erik Karlsson for 12th in the league right now, better than Yandle, Burns, Werenski, Webber, Theodore, Suter, Reilly, Klingberg, Chabot, Barrie, Jones, Fowler, Giordano... He has points (14 of them) in 12 of his past 15 games. The Sabres are 10-6 in the 16 games he’s played this calendar year. His turnovers have dropped noticeably and the passes he makes are insane.

He is still a boy and sometimes he plays like a boy. But instead of getting frustrated, think about how far Eichel has come since he was 19.

He’s going to be something special.

Do we know how many of Housley's 132 points we can shave off as they were scored at forward?

Dahlin is involved with 20.5% of the Sabres scoring.  Jack, by comparison is involved in 43.5%

John Carlson is 34% for the Caps

Roman Josi is 39.4% for the Preds.

Quinn Hughes is 24% for the Canucks.

He's getting there.  I can't complain about him.  The Sabres lack of total offense doesn't help.  I have no idea how many of the points Carlson, Josi, and Hughes score on the power play, but given the anemic scoring rate of the Sabres PP, I am sure that's holding Dahlin back a bit as well.

 

[shrader]

Each time they show that stat I'm quickly reminded that I'm staring at a list of hall of famers.  And on top of that, they played in higher scoring eras.  Now he just needs to hold that course and continue to get better.  He doesn't need to join Rick Hampton on that list (yeah, had to google him because the name never rang a bell).

[Randall Flagg]

1 hour ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Yea, but when was the last time he cross checked someone after the play? Trade the soft bum. 

To be fair, I haven't seen much criticism of him in this vein. It's usually about giveaways or a lack of Makar/Heiskanen/Hughes-like explosiveness

[Curt]

2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

To be fair, I haven't seen much criticism of him in this vein. It's usually about giveaways or a lack of Makar/Heiskanen/Hughes-like explosiveness

Shorter players often look more explosive.  It’s hard to look as explosive with long 6’3” legs taking big strides.

For example, Eichel generally does not look explosive, he looks smooth, but we know for a fact that he is extremely fast.

[woods-racer]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

To be fair, I haven't seen much criticism of him in this vein. It's usually about giveaways or a lack of Makar/Heiskanen/Hughes-like explosiveness

I've seen very little to no criticism of his physical play for two reasons I believe.

1. His age. 

2. His play style, which was known before we drafted him. He never came to the Sabres as a stay at home d-man so their has never been that expectation.

I'm sure as he ages and grows he will be more of a physical presence on the ice but I really don't believe it will become a major part of his game. 

[Randall Flagg]

5 minutes ago, Curt said:

Shorter players often look more explosive.  It’s hard to look as explosive with long 6’3” legs taking big strides.

For example, Eichel generally does not look explosive, he looks smooth, but we know for a fact that he is extremely fast.

This could be true, but those guys definitely are without a doubt more explosive than him and 99.9% of all other NHL D

[jsb]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

This could be true, but those guys definitely are without a doubt more explosive than him and 99.9% of all other NHL D

You think 99.9% of NHL defensemen look more explosive than he does?? Am I reading you right?? Besides Jack he's the best skater on the team IMO.

[Randall Flagg]

5 minutes ago, jsb said:

You think 99.9% of NHL defensemen look more explosive than he does?? Am I reading you right?? Besides Jack he's the best skater on the team IMO.

No, read it again, I think that Makar, Heiskanen, and Hughes are more explosive skaters than 99.9% of NHL defensemen, which include Dahlin, who is silky smooth with beautiful edges, but for whom explosiveness and acceleration are at the top of the list of weaknesses 

[dudacek]

8 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

In the other thread you said he was comparable to Miller.  Make up your mind.

 

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

We never left it.  He WILL be the best Sabres D-man ever.

But he isn't the best Sabres D-man on this roster.  That seems to be the disconnect.  (And within 2 years he will be the best current Sabres D-man & it won't take him much time beyond that to be their best ever.z)

 

[Derrico]

10 hours ago, dudacek said:

Sabres have had a lot of good defencemen, but they have never had a great one, a true number one.

I’ll probably get some pushback on this, but I think in 10 years there is a good chance we are saying that two of the four best Sabres of all-time are playing for us right now, and Rasmus will be one of them. He can be that good.

I agree with this.  So if Botts or whichever gm of the day can get their head out of their ass maybe we can do something special.  DO NOT waste anymore of Eichel or Dahlins careers.  It’s absurd we have these two guys and they continue to be buried in the standings prior to Christmas.