Top prospect isn’t thinking about NHL yet

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Rasmus Dahlin sees the ice better than he sees his future. Everyone else is doing the latter for him.

All eyes are on the smooth-skating, offensively gifted 17-year-old defenseman at the Olympics, with the entire hockey community aware that he’s almost a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft in June. Dahlin is the youngest player in the men’s hockey tournament, but a focal point given his seemingly limitless potential.

“He’s one of a kind,” said Joel Lundqvist, the team captain and a Swedish Hockey League teammate. “It’s so impressive how from last year with all the pressure around him he took a big step this year, and now he’s here in the Olympics at 17 years old.”

Dahlin is living out a childhood dream playing at the Olympics and insists he has not thought about the draft or playing in the NHL. If he goes first overall, Dahlin will be just the second Swede to get that honor. But he has not spoken to Mats Sundin about what to expect and prefers to keep his attention on the Olympics and his season with Frolunda.

“I’ve got so many things other to think about: eat, rest, sleep and train,” Dahlin said Wednesday. “I haven’t thought so much about that. I’m just living in the here and now. I think that is the best thing you can do.”

Dahlin has six goals and 11 assists in 35 games in the Swedish league and impresses teammates even in practice.

“We just have to enjoy playing with him, seeing all the good things he does and how he develops every day,” said Norway’s Mats Rosseli Olsen, who plays with Dahlin in Sweden. “You can come to practice every day and get surprised just watching him. … It’s fun to see how good he is.”