All eyes on next Swedish superstar

Scouts drooling over Dahlin, a 17-year-old defenceman billed as hockey’s wunderkind

In terms of hype, this one is getting a bit out of hand.

It’s one thing to be called the next Nicklas Lidstrom or get compared to Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman or Oliver EkmanLarsson. It’s quite another for scouts to flat out say Rasmus Dahlin is going to be even better than those giants on defence.

According to some, it’s not even up for debate.

“He is probably the next big superstar,” one European-based scout said.

“I’ve never seen anyone like him,” said a veteran Swedish hockey reporter. “No one was even close to what he is doing creatively with the puck.”

Only 17, Dahlin is expected to be a breakout player for Sweden at the under-20 world junior championship in Buffalo. From there, he will likely represent the country at the Olympics and the world championships, before becoming the first Swede since Mats Sundin in 1989 to be picked first overall in next year’s NHL Entry Draft.

“Compared to guys like Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman, this guy is better,” said Anders Forsberg, a former Ottawa Senators scout who drafted Karlsson and coached Hedman and Ekman-Larsson as junior-aged players. “I had a lot to do with Hedman and know him like a friend also, but this is better. I coached Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He was not even close to this. This is something special.”

Just how big is the hype surrounding Dahlin? Before coming over to Buffalo for this year’s tournament, Dahlin conducted a news conference separate from the rest of the team and has been off-limits since.

“It’s fun that people appreciate what I do, but I’d like to focus on hockey, the world juniors, eating and sleeping,” Dahlin said at last week’s news conference. “Those are my priorities.”

An offensive-minded defenceman, Dahlin plays as though he is unaware of the magnitude of the games. He rushes the puck up the ice whenever possible and relies on spin-o-ramas and toe-drags to evade checks.

But the six-foot-two, 185-pound Dahlin also has a physical edge to his game.

“He has the whole package,” Forsberg said.

“I haven’t seen that with anyone before. If you take Erik Karlsson at the same age, he was like a disaster in his own zone when he was in his draft year. This guy is already at the top of the men’s league.”