The grown-up version of Rasmus Dahlin
The fifth-year defenseman has stopped giving a crap what anyone thinks and that's a good thing
There’s no one player with the Buffalo Sabres this season I’m more interested in how their season plays out than Rasmus Dahlin and thankfully he won’t care what I or anyone else has to say about that.
It was the first day of training camp and with the lighter air around everyone and the entire situation at KeyBank Center, the Dahlin who came to the podium today was hardened, more-veteran version of the timid and anxious young man who’d been in that position before.
Dahlin was relaxed, spoke matter-of-factly, an almost totally chilled out dude. He was thoughtful and easy-going in answering our questions, but don’t let the demeanor fool you, he’s not messing around anymore, and he doesn’t care what we think of it.
“I realized early last season, that if I’m myself, not trying to be anyone, that’s going to help me on the ice,” he said. “Some guys probably aren't going to like it, some guys love it, I don't know, I don't really care. I'm just going to try and be myself and that helps me on the ice.”
Dahlin said there wasn’t one moment where that realization came to him, instead it was a slow build up over time that led to his epiphany. And after four roller coaster seasons, how could it not?
He was crowned to be the Sabres king of the blue line when he was taken No. 1 in 2018 and had an offensively superb rookie season with a former Sabres defenseman wunderkind, Phil Housley, coaching him. Couldn’t ask for a better coach to help Dahlin take advantage of his skills. Problem was, Housley wasn’t the right fit and he was out after that season. Then came Ralph Krueger.
Krueger’s goal-allergic system seemed to repress offensively gifted players while doubly punishing them for defensive misgivings. Dahlin always seemed to be banned from going any deeper in the offensive zone than the blue line and yet, in 59 games he still had 40 points, a 0.68 points per-game rate, somehow still the best of his career. Dahlin’s overall game seemed to regress under Krueger and while he wasn’t alone in that, the Sabres were in no position to have a player meant to be among the elite on defense become just another guy.
But with Krueger gone and Don Granato leaning into players’ strengths instead of hammering them about weaknesses, Dahlin shook off the chains from his game and became a game-changer in the second half of the season. Now he’s shaken off giving a shit what anyone outside the room has to say and the impetus for that comes from Granato and his staff.
“He’s a guy that has a huge appetite for more,” Granato said. “He’s immersed in the moment and the next moment that he has control over with preparation. He doesn’t get too far ahead of himself. We’ve known him to dwell on mistakes quite a bit. We’ve kind of pushed him out of that, and I think that’s helped accelerate his development.”
What else helped Dahlin adopt this new mentality was watching his defensive peers not just make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or in Cale Makar’s case winning the whole thing and being the Conn Smythe winner. From Makar to Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev to Miro Heiskanen during the bubble playoffs for Dallas, young stud defensemen have been a feature and not an exception for winning teams.
“I don’t really want to watch the playoffs, but I can’t not watch it,” Dahlin said. “It’s such great hockey you’ve got to follow it if you’re in the league I feel like. But it pisses you off for sure. It’s not fun to see all the other teams succeed because I want to be in those shoes. It’s a love-hate relationship with the playoffs when you’re not in it.”
The burning jealousy seeing other elite peers succeed year after year is but an ember of that slow burn of giving up giving a shit what others say about him. But the Sabres are banking on that burn to send Dahlin into the stratosphere he was always supposed to be a part of.
“We were talking as a staff, and I said, ‘I know that (Dahlin) is watching the NHL Playoffs and it pisses him off,’” Granato said. “He’s got such a high personal standard that I know he demands more. So, I know that he’s taking initiative over the summer and making himself a better hockey player based on what he sees and based on the experience he’s gained… He’s a better player than he was when he left us on our last game April 29. There is no doubt about that.”
We all know Dahlin has had trouble getting out of the gate in his first few seasons so tempered expectations are almost necessary, talk is cheap, after all. But with his newfound swagger and an attitude that allows him to shut out the negativity that exists in the NHL ether, there’s reason to believe this time will be different. That the Dahlin we saw close out last season will be the one that shows up day one and never goes away
.