All eyes on Sweden’s Rasmus Dahlin as draft arrives
Rasmus Dahlin is drawing comparisons to a pair of the best defenseman in the game today and to one of the best of all time. No pressure. The smooth-skating, play-making Swedish defenseman is expected to become just the third defenseman in the past 20 years to be picked No. 1 in the NHL draft.
“He is so far ahead of anyone else available,” said Joe McDonnell, the Dallas Stars’ director of amateur scouting. “We didn’t pay much attention to him this year because if we picked No. 1, we probably wouldn’t have jobs right now. And if we didn’t have the No. 1 pick, we knew we wouldn’t be able to draft him.”
Buffalo is expected to take Dahlin first overall on Friday night and it will be no surprise to some of the best in hockey.
Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom , a seven-time Norris Trophy winner, is one of the people who think Dahlin does compare to him, and some other current star defensemen who happen to be Swedes: Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman.
“He has a lot of tools,” Lidstrom, who has seen Dahlin play and has known of him for a few years, wrote in an email. “It will be interesting to see his development in the NHL where everyone is better/stronger/ faster!”
The 18-year-old Dahlin has held his own against grown men over two seasons in a high-level European league. He had seven goals and 13 assists in 41 games this past season with Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League and was the junior player of the year. As the youngest player in the Olympic men’s hockey tournament, he had an assist in two games while suiting up sparingly for Sweden.
“I think I’m ready right now to play in the NHL,” Dahlin said.
Caps to raise banner Oct. 3
The Washington Capitals will raise their first Stanley Cup banner and open their title defense on Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins — not the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
Washington did not face the Bruins during its Cup run but has beaten them 12 consecutive times in regular-season play. The Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights for the first championship in their 43-season franchise history.
The Western Conference-champion Golden Knights open their second season on Oct. 4 against the Flyers. As previously announced, the Devils will face the Edmonton Oilers in each team’s season opener on Oct. 6 in Gothenburg, Sweden.