The ascending/arrival of Rasmus Dahlin

[LGR4GM]

His defensive game is better. His offensive game is amazing. He's elevated to another level. 

[LGR4GM]

Note that Dahlin has 3 less games played than Karlsson 

And Pi.... he's a +7

[Flashsabre]

When I was little I was always jealous of Boston having Ray Bourque. He was so good and played all the time. It never mattered who his partner was, Bourque was going to dominate and help the Bruins win.

This franchise finally has a Ray Bourque.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Flashsabre

[Crusader1969]

There should be an apology letter that all those that wanted to trade him should sign..   with a promise not to judge Owen Power until he is at least 22

similar to the one that went around for Josh Allen

 

 

[Buffalonill]

Erik Karlsson  Isn't remotely close to Dahlin this year some outside fans will just compare stats and make the decision they're.

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just a quick comparison between Dahlin and fellow Swedes Victor Hedman & Erik Karlsson through their first 4 seasons

Dahlin 277gm 31g 129a 160pts  - Year 5 (so far) 8gm 5g 5a 10pts

Hedman 258gm 16g 73a  89pts - Year 5 - 75gm 13g 44a 55 pts.  (First 70+ pts season in year 8, and 20g 80+pts in year 13)

Karlsson 233gm 43g 120a 163pts - Year 5 - 82g 20g 54a 74 pts (First and only 80+ pt season in year 7 and has been diminishing since until maybe this year).

Edited October 30, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Crusader1969]

3 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Just a quick comparison between Dahlin and fellow Swedes Victor Hedman & Erik Karlsson through their first 4 seasons

Dahlin 277gm 31g 129a 160pts  - Year 5 (so far) 8gm 5g 5a 10pts

Hedman 258gm 16g 73a  89pts - Year 5 - 75gm 13g 44a 55 pts.  (First 70+ pts season in year 8, and 20g 80+pts in year 13)

Karlsson 233gm 43g 120a 163pts - Year 5 - 82g 20g 54a 74 pts (First and only 80+ pt season in year 7 and has been diminishing since until maybe this year).

Karlsson definitely looks rejuvenated this season

i looked up his contract to see if the Sabres should have interest and that’s a strong “pass” on that one 

☝️ 

[LTS]

Dahlin is almost worth the price of admission at this point. It's great to see his emergence under Granato and having the confidence in his game to go out and do what he wants when he wants.

His control of the puck has players backing off him so they don't get burned. Eichel had that same effect. Players knew they would flat out walk you if you pressured them too hard so the mindset is to contain and not attack.  It provides Dahlin time and space to make the great plays he's making.

 

[DarthEbriate]

Lidstrom was only tracked for Corsi in in his final 5 seasons. He logged Corsi For per 60 minutes each year between 63.8 and 66.9 (albeit on a stacked team) against the opposition's best.

Dahlin had CF/60 over 60 his first couple seasons based on PP time, then it radically dropped for 2 years...can't imagine why...  and this season it's a career high 65.5 thus far. (The PP this season has given up too many SH shots, otherwise his number would be off the charts.)

Dahlin's playing half the game, facing the opposition's top lines, controlling the ice, showing snarl and the occasional slash, and leading the team in points....  He's Lidstroming. In year 5 still at age 22.

(We still need Muel and Boushh and Joker back ASAP though.)

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I actually think he is going to better than many of us thought.  Myself included.  I was thinking Potvin, which would be great, but now I am think Lidstrom as the bottom and who knows at the top end ... dare I say ... Orr(ish).

[RochesterExpat]

People are still on the Cale Makar bandwagon from last season, but Makar doesn't take over games in the same manner that Dahlin does. Granted, I accept that could be because Dahlin is playing with less talent in Buffalo than Makar is in Colorado, so standing out is a little easier. However, the differences in immediate on-ice impact are noticeable.

[Zamboni]

But I thought he was ruined. Like permanently. 
 

It’s absolutely no surprise to me he’s doing well. A mix of proper developing and proper coaching has turned this permanently ruined player to a damn good one. Why some thought he was forever ruined 2-3 years ago is beyond me. And no, RK wasn’t a logical reason to think that IMO.

[Crusader1969]

39 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

But I thought he was ruined. Like permanently. 
 

It’s absolutely no surprise to me he’s doing well. A mix of proper developing and proper coaching has turned this permanently ruined player to a damn good one. Why some thought he was forever ruined 2-3 years ago is beyond me. And no, RK wasn’t a logical reason to think that IMO.

Basically cause lots people are impatient and negative by nature 
same thing will happen to Power soon   I know someone out there is dying to create the “ we have a power outage problem” thread  

Hopefully a few who wanted to trade Dahlin have learnt that it, usually, takes  time for dmen to develop 

 

 

 

[matter2003]

Dahlin is getting ready to become a no-brainer All-Star for the next 10 years every year and will likely be in the Norris conversation for the next decade and win a few. 

He has finally blossomed into what we hoped we would get...his defensive game is so much better than last year, his offensive confidence is at an all-time high and he is expertly picking his spots as to when to join the rush and jump into the play.

Now imagine when we have another one in a few years with him and Power both playing at this level?  It might not even be fair.

Edited November 1, 2022 by matter2003

[matter2003]

59 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

But I thought he was ruined. Like permanently. 
 

It’s absolutely no surprise to me he’s doing well. A mix of proper developing and proper coaching has turned this permanently ruined player to a damn good one. Why some thought he was forever ruined 2-3 years ago is beyond me. And no, RK wasn’t a logical reason to think that IMO.

Granato has a chance to become a legendary coach of the Sabres who took players that seemingly were ruined by other coaches and basically left for dead and completely turned their careers around.  Dahlin, Skinner, Okposo, Thompson, etc...I mean did anyone see Okposo becoming a key player for the Sabres?  The calls were for the Sabres to buy him out because he was so bad.

I am not sure how many other coaches would have been capable of doing what Granato has done here with what he was working with at the time, but it's been amazing to see this young team blossom when a coach just started to believe in them instead of put them in the doghouse every time they made a mistake and made them afraid to play their game.

If he doesn't get any consideration for Coach of The Year the voting is rigged.

Edited November 1, 2022 by matter2003

[LabattBlue]

On 10/30/2022 at 12:17 PM, Crusader1969 said:

There should be an apology letter that all those that wanted to trade him should sign..   with a promise not to judge Owen Power until he is at least 22

similar to the one that went around for Josh Allen

 

 

I didn’t watch much last year, but I have this year.  I was wrong…very wrong…and glad I was wrong. 
 

He has blossomed more than I ever thought he would. 👍🏻

Edited November 1, 2022 by LabattBlue

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

It might not even be fair.

That was what I said on Tage's second goal yesterday... that toe drag+shot just isn't fair.

[RochesterExpat]

2 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

Basically cause lots people are impatient and negative by nature 
same thing will happen to Power soon   I know someone out there is dying to create the “ we have a power outage problem” thread  

Are people really upset by him already? He makes mistakes, sure, but he's also a rookie playing an insane number of minutes every night with a revolving cast of linemates. Treating them equal in measure to the mistakes Risto was making 6 years into the league at 25 years old is pretty silly to me.

[Crusader1969]

36 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:

Are people really upset by him already? He makes mistakes, sure, but he's also a rookie playing an insane number of minutes every night with a revolving cast of linemates. Treating them equal in measure to the mistakes Risto was making 6 years into the league at 25 years old is pretty silly to me.

Just give it time.   Don’t forget many gave up on Tage as well.

A couple of bad turnovers by Power and we will see 

[PerreaultForever]

I don't think there's any question he's arrived and become what we thought he'd become. I'm still not in agreement with the development path Sabres used and misused, and I think it did stunt him a little but he's overcome it and he's there now so all of that is a moot point. He's a star D man and a threat to the other team that needs to be accounted for at all times.

Most of all what I like about this year's Dahlin is he seems to be a man now not a boy. He's confident, he's aggressive, and he's got snarl. He's not taking any crap from anybody and is maybe even getting a little dirty. That sort of physical push back goes a long way to letting him play his game at other times. It's infectious too. This team isn't as soft as it used to be. Or at least that's how it appears so far. 

[Doohicksie]

I will say this about Owen Power:  Rasmus tried to see what would work and made a lot of mistakes along the way by reaching for more than he was capable of.  I think Power tends to play within himself.  He makes mistakes but they tend to be "less spectacular."

[Weave]

23 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I will say this about Owen Power:  Rasmus tried to see what would work and made a lot of mistakes along the way by reaching for more than he was capable of.  I think Power tends to play within himself.  He makes mistakes but they tend to be "less spectacular."

I’ve noticed Power’s mistakes alot less than I noticed Ras’s.  I tend to agree.  At this point Power is playing more within himself.

Im guessing Power is maybe a bit more Risk averse than Dahlin was as a rookie.

[GASabresIUFAN]

The NHL network mentioned these four D last night when discussing Dahlin.  Pretty amazing 4 players near or at the top of 2 consecutive drafts.

2017

3rd overall to Dallas - Heiskanen - 281 gms 35g 99a 134 pts

4th overall to Colorado - Makar - 187 gms 48g 140a 188 pts

2018

1st overall to Buffalo - Dahlin - 286 gms 37g 135a 172pts

7th overall to Vancouver - Quinn Hughes - 210 gms 19g 151a 170 pts

How would you rate them so far?  Makar, Dahlin, Hughes, Heiskanen?

Also Adam Fox was picked 66th overall in 2016 - 213 gms 26g 146a 172 pts

 

[Doohicksie]

43 minutes ago, Weave said:

Im guessing Power is maybe a bit more Risk averse than Dahlin was as a rookie.

Two points:

1. Dahlin was dropped into a dysfunctional team with suspect coaching, a cliquey locker room and poor leadership
2. Given that, I think he felt more motivated to live up to expectations now rather than give himself time to grow.

[Doohicksie]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The NHL network mentioned these four D last night when discussing Dahlin.  Pretty amazing 4 players near or at the top of 2 consecutive drafts.

2017

3rd overall to Dallas - Heiskanen - 281 gms 35g 99a 134 pts

4th overall to Colorado - Makar - 187 gms 48g 140a 188 pts

2018

1st overall to Buffalo - Dahlin - 286 gms 37g 135a 172pts

7th overall to Vancouver - Quinn Hughes - 210 gms 19g 151a 170 pts

How would you rate them so far?  Makar, Dahlin, Hughes, Heiskanen?

Also Adam Fox was picked 66th overall in 2016 - 213 gms 26g 146a 172 pts

That's tough because each of those players faced different situations as they came into the league.