Player Discussion Rasmus Dahlin Part 3- D (1st Overall, 2018, Frölunda HC, SHL)

[HaNotsri]

Are we talking about Mighty Taco?

Nah turkish poutine as someone wrote is a better description. In turkey you would get real meat however and the döner kebab there could actually be somewhat refreshing.

The regular swedish version replaces the meat with a ”meat product”. The worst parts of the animal(s) put through a grinder and then glued together to look like a piece of meat. Then you have a miniscule sallad, a sea of fries and a massive amount of sauce on top. It’s basically a retox.

At least he’ll put on some weight eating that s***. He’ll also effectively box out with the help of his kebab breath.

 

[jBuds]

Sometimes I'm sad but then I remind myself that Rasmus Dahlin is a Buffalo Sabre.

Thirty seconds later and I’m ready for the season to start.

My, that was easy.

 

[Aladyyn]

Nah turkish poutine as someone wrote is a better description. In turkey you would get real meat however and the döner kebab there could actually be somewhat refreshing.

The regular swedish version replaces the meat with a ”meat product”. The worst parts of the animal(s) put through a grinder and then glued together to look like a piece of meat. Then you have a miniscule sallad, a sea of fries and a massive amount of sauce on top. It’s basically a retox.

At least he’ll put on some weight eating that s***. He’ll also effectively box out with the help of his kebab breath.

TIL there is a way to ruin kebab

 

[Gabrielor]

 

[MrMaster]

Looks slow, disengaged, missed a pass, shot into the goalies chest,..
I'm sorry guys, my conclusion is 20p max, maybe 30p
Looks like he's busting when we need him the most

 

[Buffaloed]

I feel you Rasmus this beauty is filthy good maybe he can fly in kebab technicians from sweden when he gets his RFA millions.

That looks like a Garbage Plate. lol
Nick Tahou Hots - Wikipedia

 

[Chainshot]

That looks like a Garbage Plate. lol
Nick Tahou Hots - Wikipedia

Weirdly, they served a garbage plate out of the Stanley Cup last week. A member of the Blues training staff had his day with it and that was what they served out of it.

Maybe Dahlin needs to take a trip down to Rochester. Purely for the food of course.

 

[Aahlstroem]

TIL there is a way to ruin kebab

Pfft, we Swedes have perfected it. Ever heard about kebabpizza?

 

[sabresfan129103]

You know I've been to Rochester countless times and I've never had a garbage plate.

 

[EP40 AKA Lil Wayne]

Hope he will have worked on his shot this pre-season. Also, Dahlin seems to like fastfood. First the kebab then Risto talking about hamburgers for breakfast

 

[sufferer]

Hope he will have worked on his shot this pre-season. Also, Dahlin seems to like fastfood. First the kebab then Risto talking about hamburgers for breakfast

He clearly has a high metabolism, unlike one of his fellow rookie teammates.

 

[Prntscrn]

wth dissing a "kebabtallrik"? Now I have seen it all

 

[explore]

Why was Dahlin switched from RD to LD? In his highlights he seems to prefer shooting from the right side (he was playing RD prior to being drafted, but I noticed this in his highlights in the NHL after he was switched to LD as well.) I think him playing RD as a left shot reduces the distance the puck has to travel to the net or to another player.

I can plainly see that the team is weaker on the left side compared to the right, but I figure you’d want your best player playing in his best/most natural position.

I think Ristolainen should be tried at LD also. I remember the play he pantsed Burns was while he was coming down the left side.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

 

[Sansbacon]

Why was Dahlin switched from RD to LD? In his highlights he seems to prefer shooting from the right side (he was playing RD prior to being drafted, but I noticed this in his highlights in the NHL after he was switched to LD as well.) I think him playing RD as a left shot reduces the distance the puck has to travel to the net or to another player.

I can plainly see that the team is weaker on the left side compared to the right, but I figure you’d want your best player playing in his best/most natural position.

I think Ristolainen should be tried at LD also. I remember the play he pantsed Burns was while he was coming down the left side.

He said something along the lines of being equally comfortable playing either side.

 

[Chainshot]

Why was Dahlin switched from RD to LD? In his highlights he seems to prefer shooting from the right side (he was playing RD prior to being drafted, but I noticed this in his highlights in the NHL after he was switched to LD as well.) I think him playing RD as a left shot reduces the distance the puck has to travel to the net or to another player.

I can plainly see that the team is weaker on the left side compared to the right, but I figure you’d want your best player playing in his best/most natural position.

I think Ristolainen should be tried at LD also. I remember the play he pantsed Burns was while he was coming down the left side.

He said something along the lines of being equally comfortable playing either side.

Just to expand on this left shot defensemen are usually more comfortable being able to retrieve and move pucks on their forehand, especially behind the net. They aren't facing the glass, vulnerable from behind as they move behind the net as often. It isn't odd that they worked him in on his more forehand side.

Further, there is some evidence that "samesidedness" has positive impacts on shots against since there are likely to be fewer turnovers in dangerous areas due to not being on ones backhand.

If they do eventually look to move him back, so be it. Right now, they have a stocked cupboard of RHD to look to pair him with, from how he lugged Bogosian around for times last year, the goodness he unlocked from Nelson's stick early, to the possibility of any of the collection of righties they have just in the offing or newly acquired. It seems like they will be using him on the left until such time as the team one day has a shortage again, which could/should be years off.

 

[explore]

Just to expand on this left shot defensemen are usually more comfortable being able to retrieve and move pucks on their forehand, especially behind the net. They aren't facing the glass, vulnerable from behind as they move behind the net as often. It isn't odd that they worked him in on his more forehand side.

Further, there is some evidence that "samesidedness" has positive impacts on shots against since there are likely to be fewer turnovers in dangerous areas due to not being on ones backhand.

If they do eventually look to move him back, so be it. Right now, they have a stocked cupboard of RHD to look to pair him with, from how he lugged Bogosian around for times last year, the goodness he unlocked from Nelson's stick early, to the possibility of any of the collection of righties they have just in the offing or newly acquired. It seems like they will be using him on the left until such time as the team one day has a shortage again, which could/should be years off.

WRT to the bolded, when I pictured what you said, it sounded like you were supporting Dahlin playing RD, instead of left. If Dahlin is retrieving the puck behind his own net as a left shot, he would be safer doing it as a RD (forehand pointing towards the back of the net) than a LD (backhand facing the back of the net.)

Maybe I didn’t understand what you were getting at properly?

 

[Chainshot]

WRT to the bolded, when I pictured what you said, it sounded like you were supporting Dahlin playing RD, instead of left. If Dahlin is retrieving the puck behind his own net as a left shot, he would be safer doing it as a RD (forehand pointing towards the back of the net) than a LD (backhand facing the back of the net.)

Maybe I didn’t understand what you were getting at properly?

I think you have that flipped. When he moves to the wall as a left shot, he is going to be facing the glass and on his backhand. Imagine a left shot on the right side of the defensive zone moving to the half-wall as a puck retriever. He'll be facing the glass, with his backhand as the option to move the puck up the wall further. It's part of why Lydman had such a grenade launcher - he was a left shot playing RD and his back was to the exiting winger.

 

[nergish]

Is Dahlin the quietest superstar in the league?
It's almost like everybody outside of Buffalo just kinda resigned to the fact that he's very good... and then forgot about him.
We're talking about a generational Dman who has best-in-the-world type upside, but has less fanfare than a lot of his peers.

Is it because he's kind of quiet, or dare I say 'boring' off the ice?
I mean, damn - the kid is elite. Look at the goal he scored last night!

 

[Chainshot]

Is Dahlin the quietest superstar in the league?
It's almost like everybody outside of Buffalo just kinda resigned to the fact that he's very good... and then forgot about him.
We're talking about a generational Dman who has best-in-the-world type upside, but has less fanfare than a lot of his peers.

Is it because he's kind of quiet, or dare I say 'boring' off the ice?
I mean, damn - the kid is elite. Look at the goal he scored last night!

When the team around him starts winning, especially due to his efforts, the bandwagon will likely gear up and rumble down every Main St. in North America with a hockey team.

 

[EP40 AKA Lil Wayne]

Is Dahlin the quietest superstar in the league?
It's almost like everybody outside of Buffalo just kinda resigned to the fact that he's very good... and then forgot about him.
We're talking about a generational Dman who has best-in-the-world type upside, but has less fanfare than a lot of his peers.

Is it because he's kind of quiet, or dare I say 'boring' off the ice?
I mean, damn - the kid is elite. Look at the goal he scored last night!

You make it sound like he has arrived which he has not. 20+ defensemen ahead of him in points last He is a stud considering age but has a long way ahead of him and the journey to become a superstar d is a uncertain one and player development is not linear. I think its a good thing fans of other teams are holding him under a microscope.

About the goal - it was nice.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

You make it sound like he has arrived which he has not. 20+ defensemen ahead of him in points last He is a stud considering age but has a long way ahead of him and the journey to become a superstar d is a uncertain one and player development is not linear. I think its a good thing fans of other teams are holding him under a microscope.

About the goal - it was nice.

Yeah 20 dman were ahead of him in points but lets see.

Was 18 years old. Virtually no dmen even play a full season at age 18 let alone even come close to what Dahlin produced.

Erik Karlsson - Didn't play in his D+1. Scored 26 in 60 in D+2 at age 19.

Drew Doughty - Turned 19 2 months into his D+1 season. Scored 27 points

Seth Jones - Turned 19 before the season even started in his D+1. Scored 25. Didn't hit 40 until his D+4.

Victor Hedman - Turned 19 2 months into his D+1. Didn't eclipse 26 points until his D+5.

Alex Pietrangelo - Didn't score 40+ until D+3.

John Carlson - D+7 he hits his first 40 point season.

PK Subban - D+7 finally hits 40.

I can just go on and on. What Dahlin did is literally something unseen in nearly 40 YEARS. Before haters try to bring up the whole "OH HES A DMAN POINTZZZ " ill cut that shit off right there. You are not an elite franchise dman unless you excel at both ends. Dahlins D game is great for a 19 year old and is just as good if not better as all of those listed above were at his age, hell even older for those guys. He is generational and it is not even debatable.

Since 2005 there are 2 players drafted who can be considered better prospects/players and that is Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. He is a whole tier ahead of the next group of 1OAs such as Matthews, Stamkos, Hall, Kane, Tavares etc. There are 4 generational talents drafted in the last 25 years. Ovechkin (arguably best goal scorer in league history), Crosby (best player seen since 66 and 99), McDavid (best player since Crosby) and then Dahlin (2nd most productive 18 year old dman in the 100 year history of the NHL)

That goal he scored last night was a superstars goal. It happened so fast and with how he broke in alone I was assuming it was a left handed shot forward like Skinner or VO breaking in until I realized the gazelle powering to the goal was way to big to be one of those 2.

Like how scouts said Dahlin goes #1 even if he switched to forward before the draft its absolutely true. The Lidstrom comparisons are spot on. To be honest if winning McDavid in 2015 meant getting Svechnikov or Brady Tkachuk over Dahlin 3 years later then I am glad how things turned out.

Eichel + Dahlin > McDavid + Svechnikov/Tkachuk/Kotkaniemi

90 point franchise C + superstar dman > 110 point superstar C + ~70 point star first liner.

 

[Havok89]

Yeah 20 dman were ahead of him in points but lets see.

Was 18 years old. Virtually no dmen even play a full season at age 18 let alone even come close to what Dahlin produced.

Erik Karlsson - Didn't play in his D+1. Scored 26 in 60 in D+2 at age 19.

Drew Doughty - Turned 19 2 months into his D+1 season. Scored 27 points

Seth Jones - Turned 19 before the season even started in his D+1. Scored 25. Didn't hit 40 until his D+4.

Victor Hedman - Turned 19 2 months into his D+1. Didn't eclipse 26 points until his D+5.

Alex Pietrangelo - Didn't score 40+ until D+3.

John Carlson - D+7 he hits his first 40 point season.

PK Subban - D+7 finally hits 40.

I can just go on and on. What Dahlin did is literally something unseen in nearly 40 YEARS. Before haters try to bring up the whole "OH HES A DMAN POINTZZZ " ill cut that **** off right there. You are not an elite franchise dman unless you excel at both ends. Dahlins D game is great for a 19 year old and is just as good if not better as all of those listed above were at his age, hell even older for those guys. He is generational and it is not even debatable.

Since 2005 there are 2 players drafted who can be considered better prospects/players and that is Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. He is a whole tier ahead of the next group of 1OAs such as Matthews, Stamkos, Hall, Kane, Tavares etc. There are 4 generational talents drafted in the last 25 years. Ovechkin (arguably best goal scorer in league history), Crosby (best player seen since 66 and 99), McDavid (best player since Crosby) and then Dahlin (2nd most productive 18 year old dman in the 100 year history of the NHL)

That goal he scored last night was a superstars goal. It happened so fast and with how he broke in alone I was assuming it was a left handed shot forward like Skinner or VO breaking in until I realized the gazelle powering to the goal was way to big to be one of those 2.

Like how scouts said Dahlin goes #1 even if he switched to forward before the draft its absolutely true. The Lidstrom comparisons are spot on. To be honest if winning McDavid in 2015 meant getting Svechnikov or Brady Tkachuk over Dahlin 3 years later then I am glad how things turned out.

Eichel + Dahlin > McDavid + Svechnikov/Tkachuk/Kotkaniemi

90 point franchise C + superstar dman > 110 point superstar C + ~70 point star first liner.

I think the fact remains that he’s not seen as a superstar yet despite his incredible rookie season by an 18 year old’s standards.

 

[Montag DP]

You make it sound like he has arrived which he has not. 20+ defensemen ahead of him in points last He is a stud considering age but has a long way ahead of him and the journey to become a superstar d is a uncertain one and player development is not linear. I think its a good thing fans of other teams are holding him under a microscope.

About the goal - it was nice.

You're telling me that there were only 20+ defensemen ahead of him in points, as an 18 year old on a bad team, and that's a reason not to get really excited about him?

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

I think the fact remains that he’s not seen as a superstar yet despite his incredible rookie season by an 18 year old’s standards.

And that is the problem of the fans of 30 other teams who are oblivious to what we know. One thing this board is good at is for the most part we don't pump up our guys on the main boards as being better then they really are (for the most part). We aren't out there arguing that Eichel should be considered a top 5 center (yet), that Skinner is a top 10 winger, Sam the best forward from 2014 etc etc. We know that we are a laughingstock for a decade and have been horrible for ages. That won't change until we finally make the f***ing playoffs.


But when it comes to Dahlin we are absolutely disrespected at that aspect. For cripes sake we had to endure an entire season of Dallas/Leafs and other Sabre hater fans/Finnish posters that Miro f***ing Heiskanen is and will be better then Dahlin short and long term ( ) Heiskanen is a fine dman and will most likely be a Norris candidate at least once in his career. But Rasmus Dahlin had been annointed a generational superstar prospect atleast an entire year before his draft. And he came in and still outproduced Heiskanen even being a year younger and an entire year behind in development. Dahlin is the one player I will die on the mountain for because he isn't getting the respect he deserves. In the 50 years the Sabres have been around, D has absolutely been the Achilles heel. We have had HoF forwards and/or superstars play for us (Perreault, LaFontaine, Hawerchuk, Turgeon, Andreychuk, Mogilny) along with more star forwards (Martin, Robert, Briere, Satan, Vanek, Foligno, Gare). We have had the pleasure of watching the best goalie who has ever played and ever will play on our net. A Hasek level goalie will never be seen ever again.

But when it comes to dmen, only Housley can be considered a star dman. Guys like Ramsey, Hajt, Schoenfeld, Zhitnik,Playfair etc were good dmen but were never ever considered one of the best at their position. I mean hell, Risto after this season is going to be 7th all time in D scoring in team history at the age of 25. This team outside of Housley and Soupy for 3 years has not had top offensive dmen.


So having Dahlin really is new territory for us. Something we haven't seen in 36 years. That being said it is crazy that we have 2 of the 3 40+ point 18 year old dmen in league history. But back to your post, the league is going to have to start giving Dahlin the credit he deserves. He needs to start being posted in those top 5 player's with highest trade value posts. He did win a recent poll asking what dman is most likely to win multiple Norris trophies over the next decade so that is a start. But he is not just going to be one of the best dmen, he is going to be one of the best players in the league period.