Dahlin is a promising young prospect.
By Melissa Burgess / Diebytheblade.com
The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. six writers and 718 readers ranked players under the age of 25 as of September 1, 2018 in the Buffalo Sabres organization. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production against future projection to rank each player. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.
Yesterday, we spotlighted Casey Mittelstadt, with Sam Reinhart the day prior.
To little surprise, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin fits in as #2 on our Top 25 Under 25. Naturally, Dahlin is the highest-ranked on the list who has yet to play an NHL game (the next in that category would be Rasmus Asplund, who came in at #12.
Though he has yet to play a game at the NHL level – or even in North America, for that matter – Sabres fans are hyped about the 18-year-old Dahlin, and rightfully so.
From the moment the Sabres won the NHL Draft Lottery, it’s been Dahlinsanity. He’s been called “the next great NHL blueline prospect,” a “smart, two-way defenseman,” and has been compared to the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom (by Ray Ferraro) and Brian Leetch (by Lidstrom himself).
Dahlin looked like a man among boys at Sabres’ prospect camp earlier this summer, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares against prospects from other teams if he participates in the team’s Prospects Challenge next month.
The Swedish defender is a player the Sabres are building their future around, and though it may take a bit to get there, things are looking bright. He’ll join a blueline this season that includes Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Marco Scandella, and Jake McCabe.
It’s hard not to be excited about Dahlin and what he can bring to the table; the 2018 first-overall draft pick will likely be a huge part of the Sabres’ blueline for years to come.