The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of staff writers and over 200 readers that ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2024. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes are counted equally with reader votes.
Rasmus Dahlin
Drafted: 2018 – 1st Round (1st Overall)
Position: Defense
Born: April 13, 2000 – 24 Years Old
2023-2024 stats: 20 G | 39 A | 66 PIM in 81 GP
2023 T25U25 Ranking: 1
In his last eligible year to be ranked in Die By the Blade’s T25U25, Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin finds himself in the top spot for the third year in a row – and deservingly so. He just completed his sixth season in the NHL with 20 goals (a career-best) and is signed with the Sabres through 2032. The three-time All-Star has had an impressive career thus far, making history a few times along the way and earning respect around the league as an elite defenseman with plenty of ice time and a competitive edge. His stickhandling and smooth skating are just a few of the attributes that set him apart from a majority of players in the league. Besides Phil Housley, Dahlin is the only other defenseman in Sabres history to reach 70 points in a single season. Additionally, in 355 career games, he has 233 points making him one of 12 defensemen to earn at least 200 points before turning 23 years old.
The alternate captain (and perhaps future captain with the absence of Kyle Okposo?) has certainly had his ups and downs over the years but seemed to find his footing these last two seasons as he played in 78 and then 81 total games, respectively, and gained a ton of confidence not only in his scoring assistance but also his defensive play. This is said knowing that, of course, the team as a whole is far from where it should be (in, you know, the playoffs). Dahlin’s physicality has improved these last few years as well. During the 2023-2024 season, he tallied 154 blocked shots and 195 hits – both career-highs. He has been just plain fun to watch with hits like the one below:
Did anyone else think that resembled a Brian Campbell hit? Because same.
Now a veteran on the team, Dahlin seems to only improve with experience and will soon begin his seventh season with his fourth head coach: Lindy Ruff. If Ruff can push the team into the post-season (Are you there, hockey gods? It’s us, Buffalo.), it would be amazing to see what the star can do in the playoffs.
#25: Adam Kleber
#24: Tyson Kozak
#23: Maxim Štrbák
#22: Prokhor Poltapov
#21: Aleksandr Kisakov
#20: Viktor Neuchev
#19: Vsevolod Komarov
#18: Nikita Novikov
#17: Anton Wahlberg
#16 Isak Rosén
#15 Peyton Krebs
#14: Noah Östlund
#13: Konsta Helenius
#12: Ryan Johnson
#11: Ryan McLeod
#10: Mattias Samuelsson
#9: Jiri Kulich
#8: Devon Levi
#7: Zach Benson
#6: Bowen Byram
#5: Owen Power
#4: Jack Quinn
#3: JJ Peterka
#2: Dylan Cozens