Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - The Sabres have to make a decision in June if they’re going to give qualifying offers to Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons. They’ve already signed European free agent center Arttu Ruotsalainen and have Rasmus Asplund down in Rochester.
Asplund had a rough start to his first professional season in North America. He's 21 and had played three years in the SHL before coming to Rochester.
The center had no goals and one assist in his first 16 games with the Amerks. When the Sabres moved up to get Asplund in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft, they talked about what a smart player he was. That came through as Asplund found his game and had 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points in 75 games. Asplund said there were many factors that helped him get better, “I think I really learned how to play my game at a really high pace. I think that was the one thing I was struggling with a little bit, but the longer the year went, I think I got more and more used to it and got comfortable doing things at a high speed.”
After playing on the larger ice in Europe, players like Asplund, Victor Olofsson and Lawrence Pilut had to get used to having less time to make plays. Asplund said, “I wouldn’t say it was hard, you had to take some time to get used to it like how certain players react in certain situations, so I just had to be a little patient with getting used to it.”
