He was. The fact that he lived up to most of his ridiculous hype doesn't mean it wasn't overboard.
If you can't see that proclaiming that an 18 year old prospect's FLOOR, as in the worst he can possibly do, is the current best defenseman in the league is ridiculous hype, I don't know what to tell you.
Rasmus Dahlin is going to be an amazing player. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect him to come in and be the best defenseman in the league.
Like would toronto ship marner+ liljegren for 1st OA 2018?
Would oilers give up drailsaitl + pulju
for 1st OA 2018?
Would jets do laine + picks for for 1st OA 2018?
Toronto would offer Marner/Liljegren for 1st OA 2018 in a heart beat and it would be rejected. Drai/Pulju and Laine/picks are much closer in value.Of course not. Why would any of those teams do that?
Why do people find it hard to believe that he’s already better than most NHLers?
Imo he definitely is
what talent does he have?
but is he an overall good defender. like can he play defense as well?His skating is incredible, he has fantastic hands and can make the highlight reel stuff. I don't watch him enough to know his game by game, minute by minute defensive acumen, but most of the guys who DO watch him wouldn't rave about him so much if there were red flags there.
I agree that the conditions are never identical. However Karlsson played for the same organization that had the same level of success back then as it has now (midtable), so they are as similar as one can reasonably expect. In any case Dahlin is not just carried by his teammates, as his Corsi is the 2nd best in the entire league.
How would those "Champions" do against teams in the AHL under NHL rules in your opinion?
How do you rank them since the other leagues don't play each other?
Many Euros (like Shipachyov) do great under the no hit rules but don't translate when it becomes "in your face" hockey. Compare Laine to his fellow Finns Julujarvi & Joulevi (both played unerage in the same league & were taken in the top 5) to see the difference.
He's basically saying that prime Karlsson would be scoring at a 0.5 PPG pace in the SHL
You know, the guy who has had seasons with a PPG superior to 1 in the much superior NHL.
SHL might well be the 2nd best league in Europe. That still doesn't make them better that the AHL (you know, the league the NHL uses to train players including those drafted from Europe that aren't NHL ready).This was your orgininal question:
And as someone told you, all the best leagues in Europe except KHL competes in the Champions Hockey League. Where coincidently Frölunda, the team Dahlin is playing on, have won 2 years in a row. (and another swedish team, Luleå, the only other year its been active).
SHL trumps AHL every day of the week.
SHL might well be the 2nd best league in Europe. That still doesn't make them better that the AHL (you know, the league the NHL uses to train players including those drafted from Europe that aren't NHL ready).
Some Euro hot shots that played vs men in Europe are still figuring out the harder NHL game in the AHL. Somehow the leagues that they were excelling in didn't prepare them for the real big league.
So that Champions Hockey League doesn't play the AHL. Again, under NHL rules do you really believe the winner in what you call the 3rd best could prove better? Or would they drop to 4th?
Because on the smaller ice they'd be playing under the conditions the NHL (you know, the best league) uses. The same size the SHL players would have to get used to if ever drafted by the big league.Do you really think its the stars we send over to play in the AHL? Players that are considered top level player (or close) dont go there, and if they do its just for a very short adjustment period in which they learn how to play on small ice. For example Lias Andersson (even if hes overrated imo) didn't want to go there even if hes 18y just because he is already considered a top player in SHL.
And why is it necessarily so that small ice should be the standard when deciding which league is the best? IMO SHL would win both on small and big ice, but it wouldnt even be close in the latter.
No offense, but no D-man going 1st overall is low risk. Look at the history of D-men who have gone 1st. Dahlin is exceptional, but to say he is a lock to tear up the NHL is a bit much.No. Dahlin is low risk, high reward, so there's no need to play it safe taking someone like Matthews instead.
Dahlin looks like he could be as fast as McDavid which is crazy
Dahlin 1st overall bust like Yakupov
No offense, but no D-man going 1st overall is low risk. Look at the history of D-men who have gone 1st. Dahlin is exceptional, but to say he is a lock to tear up the NHL is a bit much.