Jonathan Dahlen

[hohosaregood]

Any thoughts about this dude coming over next season?

I'll be shocked if he does anything noteworthy at the NHL level.

 

[ZEBROA]

I'll be shocked if he does anything noteworthy at the NHL level.

Whats noteworthy in your book?

 

[Eye of Ra]

I'll be shocked if he does anything noteworthy at the NHL level.

well he is for sure more skilled than the likes of kellman, melker karlsson and sörensen.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

well he is for sure more skilled than the likes of kellman, melker karlsson and sörensen.

That’s a good thing. Now, can he use that skill effectively with much less time and space. He’s coming to a smaller ice rink to play against far better competition. He will come to camp and be given a chance to compete. If he’s good enough, he can earn a spot on the big club. We will see.

I haven’t watched him much. It sounds like he has puck skills/ offensive ability. Does he defend well? Does he play hard in all 3 zones? Does he go into the corners and win puck battles?

 

[Hodge]

There's definitely a spot for Dahlen in the top nine if he can beat out Leonard, Chekhovich, Chmelevski and Blichfeld. I think he's better than all of them right now.

Kane - Hertl - Barabanov
Balcers - Couture - Meier
Dahlen - New 3C - Labanc
Nieto - Gambrell/True - Gregor

 

[Eye of Ra]

That’s a good thing. Now, can he use that skill effectively with much less time and space. He’s coming to a smaller ice rink to play against far better competition. He will come to camp and be given a chance to compete. If he’s good enough, he can earn a spot on the big club. We will see.

I haven’t watched him much. It sounds like he has puck skills/ offensive ability. Does he defend well? Does he play hard in all 3 zones? Does he go into the corners and win puck battles?

He is not really a gritty player as his dad was. But i think Jonathan could still survive in NHL, look at someone like Phil Kessel.

 

[NWSharkie]

There's definitely a spot for Dahlen in the top nine if he can beat out Leonard, Chekhovich, Chmelevski and Blichfeld. I think he's better than all of them right now.

Kane - Hertl - Barabanov
Balcers - Couture - Meier
Dahlen - New 3C - Labanc
Nieto - Gambrell/True - Gregor

I mean, it's hard to say there's "definitely a spot for" a guy who hasn't showed that he wants to play in North America at all. He might have the raw skill, but his handful of AHL games haven't done much to prove he can translate it to a smaller rink and more physical game, and the four guys you mention have all been in San Jose working with next year's coaches for a year or more.

Maybe him staying in Sweden last year was entirely due to COVID and being better off playing big minutes at home vs. limited minutes for the Barracuda. But he left the season before.

A guy who left his Allsvenskan club when it was promoted to the SHL, didn't make an impact in the AHL, went back to Allsvenskan and is now rumored to leave as they're promoted again...doesn't strike me as someone who thrives at the highest levels of competition. I'd be surprised if he did actually come over to NA this year, more surprised if he played well for the Barracuda, and shocked if he became an NHL regular this year.

 

[Cas]

I mean, it's hard to say there's "definitely a spot for" a guy who hasn't showed that he wants to play in North America at all. He might have the raw skill, but his handful of AHL games haven't done much to prove he can translate it to a smaller rink and more physical game, and the four guys you mention have all been in San Jose working with next year's coaches for a year or more.

Maybe him staying in Sweden last year was entirely due to COVID and being better off playing big minutes at home vs. limited minutes for the Barracuda. But he left the season before.

A guy who left his Allsvenskan club when it was promoted to the SHL, didn't make an impact in the AHL, went back to Allsvenskan and is now rumored to leave as they're promoted again...doesn't strike me as someone who thrives at the highest levels of competition. I'd be surprised if he did actually come over to NA this year, more surprised if he played well for the Barracuda, and shocked if he became an NHL regular this year.

Dahlen went back to Sweden because he had a very sub-par debut season in the AHL, and he went back presumably to regain his confidence. Seems perfectly reasonable to me, albeit somewhat concerning - of course, the cost to acquire Dahlen wasn't much anyway, so you try it out and see what happens.

Dahlen dominated the Allsvenskan and then covid happened. Timra was in the playoffs, competing for promotion to the SHL, but the tournament was cancelled and they stayed put. Dahlen, quite naturally, stayed in Sweden - he's at home and has nowhere to go anyway.

With the NHL and AHL seasons still up in the air as to whether they would happen, let alone when, the Allsvenskan started back up in the autumn and, quite naturally, Dahlen stayed at home and played. It's better to play somewhere than to travel and wait and see if anything happened in North America. With that, it made sense for Dahlen to stay.

Nothing about Dahlen's second season in Sweden should be considered a problem - he was dominant, achieved his desired goal, and wasn't staying put because he didn't think he could cut it in the AHL, but because no one was sure there'd even be an AHL season.

There are serious concerns about Dahlen's ability to play in North America - he did once and was not very successful (although hardly disastrous - 36 points in 63 games, including playoffs). He's supposedly not a very good skater. He may have learned bad habits. He may not have the mental fortitude to tough it out. But we know he's skilled offensively and he cost pretty much nothing (Linus Karlsson doesn't look like he's going to accomplish that much anyway), so there's absolutely no harm in giving him a shot to win a job and I think there's been way too much ink spilled criticizing him on this forum than is merited.

 

[Hodge]

I mean, it's hard to say there's "definitely a spot for" a guy who hasn't showed that he wants to play in North America at all. He might have the raw skill, but his handful of AHL games haven't done much to prove he can translate it to a smaller rink and more physical game, and the four guys you mention have all been in San Jose working with next year's coaches for a year or more.

Maybe him staying in Sweden last year was entirely due to COVID and being better off playing big minutes at home vs. limited minutes for the Barracuda. But he left the season before.

A guy who left his Allsvenskan club when it was promoted to the SHL, didn't make an impact in the AHL, went back to Allsvenskan and is now rumored to leave as they're promoted again...doesn't strike me as someone who thrives at the highest levels of competition. I'd be surprised if he did actually come over to NA this year, more surprised if he played well for the Barracuda, and shocked if he became an NHL regular this year.

All fair points but Chekhovich and Chmelevski have shown next to nothing in the AHL so far in their careers. Blichfeld may lack the ability to play regular 5on5 minutes in the NHL. I thought Leonard played well for a rookie with no pro experience but Tim Burke came out and said they would have preferred him to spend the season in the AHL so he shouldn't be considered a lock for a lineup spot right now. Like I said there's an open spot in the top nine and Dahlen's competition for it doesn't seem too strong but we'll see if he even comes over and how he looks in camp if he does.

 

[NWSharkie]

There are serious concerns about Dahlen's ability to play in North America - he did once and was not very successful (although hardly disastrous - 36 points in 63 games, including playoffs). He's supposedly not a very good skater. He may have learned bad habits. He may not have the mental fortitude to tough it out. But we know he's skilled offensively and he cost pretty much nothing (Linus Karlsson doesn't look like he's going to accomplish that much anyway), so there's absolutely no harm in giving him a shot to win a job and I think there's been way too much ink spilled criticizing him on this forum than is merited.

All fair points but Chekhovich and Chmelevski have shown next to nothing in the AHL so far in their careers. Blichfeld may lack the ability to play regular 5on5 minutes in the NHL. I thought Leonard played well for a rookie with no pro experience but Tim Burke came out and said they would have preferred him to spend the season in the AHL so he shouldn't be considered a lock for a lineup spot right now. Like I said there's an open spot in the top nine and Dahlen's competition for it doesn't seem too strong but we'll see if he even comes over and how he looks in camp if he does.

For sure, and I'm not closing the book on the guy by any means. I just don't see anything in his playing record that suggests he'll be an impact player this coming year. Under "normal" circumstances (i.e. in the before-times), I'd expect that a player like Dahlen would likely come in and play on the Barracuda, maybe get a cup of coffee with the big club, and let the coaches see how he plays against 2nd-tier competition on NA ice before making plans around him. Doubly so since the Sharks are unlikely to be contenders next year and don't face the same pressure to rush a prospect for the sake of cheaply filling a roster hole. Easier to sign a plug here and there and let your development staff do the developing.

 

[thrillermiller89]

I heard this guy can play W and C. Any chance this guy comes in and plays 3C?

 

[themelkman]

I heard this guy can play W and C. Any chance this guy comes in and plays 3C?

He didnt play center in swedish second league, doubt he plays it in the NHL.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I heard this guy can play W and C. Any chance this guy comes in and plays 3C?

Nah. The NHL is too hard and 'C' is harder to play than 'W'. I would be surprised if he comes over to be honest. Has shown little interest in doing so.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Nah. The NHL is too hard and 'C' is harder to play than 'W'. I would be surprised if he comes over to be honest. Has shown little interest in doing so.

He’s definitely coming over but it’s a matter of whether he sticks around if he doesn’t make it to the NHL.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

He’s definitely coming over but it’s a matter of whether he sticks around if he doesn’t make it to the NHL.

Has he said or committed to that yet? Has DW? I am hoping he comes over and does well but my main concern is how the deals with the struggles of the pro game in the US. If he can't score, can he still be a useful NHL player?

 

[Cas]

Has he said or committed to that yet? Has DW? I am hoping he comes over and does well but my main concern is how the deals with the struggles of the pro game in the US. If he can't score, can he still be a useful NHL player?

DW Jr. already said he would come over.

 

[Munnyro]

If he can be a 3rd line winger it'll be a win. It'll be interesting to see how he'll handle AHL/healthy scratch if he stumbles.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Has he said or committed to that yet? Has DW? I am hoping he comes over and does well but my main concern is how the deals with the struggles of the pro game in the US. If he can't score, can he still be a useful NHL player?

Pretty sure DWJR already confirmed it. It’s a matter of whether he proves himself.