Victor Olofsson Ready for North America

There’s another new Swede in town, and his name isn’t Rasmus Dahlin - it’s Victor Olofsson.

Olofsson, 22, is set to come over to North America this fall for his first professional season of hockey in the United States - and it should be a good one for the Buffalo Sabres prospect.

At this point, it’s uncertain where exactly Olofsson will be playing come October; it’s possible he’ll end up in Rochester with the Amerks, but some say he could fight for a spot in Buffalo, too.

The 2014 draft pick was signed by Buffalo earlier this year, a move that allowed the NHL team to maintain his rights. He signed his two-year, entry-level contract on April 24.

The winger spent last season with Frolunda HC of the SHL, where he put up a career-best 43 points, including 27 goals, in 50 regular season games. He led the league in goals and was second on his team in points behind Ryan Lasch (55 points).

There, he also played with Dahlin, who had good things to say about him.

“I wasn’t even impressed anymore,” Dahlin said after Olofsson made several sharp moves during the Sabres’ recent development camp. “He makes those kinds of shots all the time.”

Dahlin has also said Olofsson has “the best shot I’ve ever seen.”

Aside from Dahlin, Olofsson also played alongside some other familiar names in Sweden, including former Amerks defensemen Matt Donovan and Adam Pardy, former Sabres defenseman Mike Weber and New York Rangers prospect Lias Andersson.

The rest of the Sabres organization seems to be excited about Olofsson too.

“It’s a big jump from the Swedish elite league to the National Hockey League, but for him what he brings is NHL release,” said Sabres assistant GM Randy Sexton. “We saw glimpses of it today & lots of evidence of it during the week.”

“He’ll need some time to transition but we’re very excited about the offensive capabilities he brings,” Sexton added.

Many point to Olofsson’ shot as a huge part of his game, which was evident at camp:

Olofsson will likely take some time to transition to the North American game, but it will be interesting to see if he can have the same success here as he did in Sweden.