Sabres look to Dahlin
DALLAS — Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin went first overall to the Buffalo Sabres and Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov second to the Carolina Hurricanes in the two most predictable developments of an NHL draft that also featured some curveballs. The Sabres taking Dahlin was automatic since they won the draft lottery in April, and the 18-year-old wore a Buffalo Bills hat Friday prior to the selection. Svechnikov got to try on the Hurricanes’ draft hat before he was the No. 2 pick, just as general manager Don Waddell recently acknowledged he would be. Dahlin is the second Swedish player to be taken No. 1 and the first since Mats Sundin in 1989. Sundin went on to a Hall of Fame career. “It’s pretty crazy actually,” Dahlin said. “He’s a legend in the hockey world. It’s kind of weird but amazing.” The selections after Dahlin and Svechnikov brought some surprises. Montreal took Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi third, and Arizona went a bit off the board with center Barrett Hayton fifth, allowing high-scoring Czech winger Filip Zadina to fall to Detroit with the sixth pick. “I wasn’t really surprised,” said Kotkaniemi, who had been linked to the Canadiens in recent days. “I heard that they were looking for centers. So I hoped that they chose me.” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said before the draft that they were going to take the player they thought would be the best down the road. Holland figured Zadina can be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL. “We’re trying to build,” Holland said. “We’re looking to acquire as much talent as we can as quickly as possible.” Dahlin should spark the rebuilding process for Buffalo, which has missed the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons. The smooth-skating playmaker was considered the consensus first pick for more than a year.
FOOTBALL
› FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have signed first-round draft pick Isaiah Wynn, an offensive lineman from the University of Georgia. Wynn, 22, was selected 23rd overall. At 6-foot-2, 302 pounds, he played both guard and tackle during his college career. New England lost starting left tackle Nate Solder to the Giants as a free agent, though it’s uncertain where Wynn will play on the line. His contract, under the rookie wage scale, should be worth about $11.4 million over four years, and the Patriots will have a fifth-year option on Wynn. The team has signed all of its draft selections except second-round running back Sony Michel, also of Georgia.
BUSINESS
› ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Meadowlands Racetrack plans to bring legal sports betting to New York City’s doorstep next month. Jeff Gural, who manages the northern New Jersey track, told The Associated Press he plans to begin offering sports betting July 15. That’s significantly earlier than a timetable the track laid out just more than a week ago, when a competing track and an Atlantic City casino became the first in New Jersey to take sports bets after its legalization. The development came as New York state adjourned its legislative session this week without adopting a sports betting bill, leaving its vast population base available for the Meadowlands track, which Gural predicted will quickly become the state’s busiest sports betting outlet. “New York did me such a favor by not passing sports betting,” Gural said. “That leaves me the entirety of New York City, Long Island, Westchester County. There are 15 million people that live within 20 miles of the Meadowlands. They gave me a tremendous gift.”