Sweden’s Dahlin goes to Sabres with No. 1 pick
DALLAS — Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin went first overall to the Buffalo Sabres and Russian wing Andrei Svechnikov second to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night 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 prior to the selection. Svechnikov got to try on the Hurricanes’ draft hat before he was the No. 2 pick after general manager Don Waddell acknowledged recently that Svechnikov would be the team’s pick.
Dahlin is the second Swedish player to be taken No. 1 after Mats Sundin was the top pick by the Quebec Nordiques 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 highscoring Czech wing 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.”
Dahlin could spark the rebuilding process for Buffalo, which has missed the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons. He was considered the consensus first pick for more than a year.
“It’s been a long wait,” Dahlin said. “You can’t really plan anything. Finally today I can plan my future. I love to call my new town Buffalo.”
About an hour before the Sabres were on the clock, the Stanley Cup champion Capitals made the first trade of draft weekend, sending defenseman Brooks Orpik and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer to the Avalanche for a secondround pick. The deal netted Washington the 47th pick and cleared salary- cap space which could enable it to re- sign pending free- agent defensemen John Carlson and Michal Kempny.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has spoken with Carlson’s agent about a deal but had not agreed to one as of Friday night.