Buffalo Sabres Top 25 Under 25, #1: Rasmus Dahlin

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, 2023. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes counted equally with reader votes.

Rasmus Dahlin

Drafted: 2018 BUF, 1st round,1st pick (1st Overall)

Position: Defense | Shoots Left

Born: April 13, 2000 | 23 years old

2022-2023 Stats: 78 GP | 15 G | 58 A

2022 T25U25 Ranking: T-1st

Last year’s T25U25 ranking had him tied for first with fellow defenseman Owen Power, but this year Rasmus Dahlin sits comfortably and exclusively in the top spot, surely surprising no one.

Since his drafting, fans have experienced the ups (under current head coach Don Granato) and downs (under regrettable former head coach Ralph Krueger) of the Swede, but luckily his ups have been more consistent as of late as he has really started to shine not only in Buffalo but around the NHL.

While he is certainly more known as an offensive-defenseman, Dahlin had some memorable physical moments during the 2022-2023 season in addition to his elite skating (it is seriously so smooth, it almost resembles dancing), passing, and salient puck-handling:

Also during last season, Dahlin contributed an impressive 73 points, was a +12, and blocked 132 shots.

You do not have to spend a lot of time watching him to see that his hockey IQ is off the charts and that he is easily one of the most patient hockey players on the ice at any given time, making him oh-so-fun to watch. So far in his short professional career, he has served as alternate captain on the Sabres, made two All-Star appearances, and broken a few records along the way. In 2018, Dahlin became the youngest hockey player to play in the Swedish senior team at the Winter Olympics. Most recently, he became the first defenseman in NHL history to score in the first four games of a season (2022-2023). Other than Phil Housley, Dahlin is the only other defenseman in Sabres history to tally 70 points in a season as well as the fourth defenseman in team history to score 15 or more goals in a single season.

He really is that good.

Incredibly versatile at both ends of the ice and poised beyond his 23 years, we are simply lucky to have him on our team. Making it even sweeter is his recent eight-year contract extension, which will begin during the 2024-2025 regular season. The only thing that would make watching Rasmus Dahlin more exciting would be to see what he does in the post-season. Let’s go, Buffalo!

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#23: Norwin Panocha

#22: Jakub Konecny

#21: Prokhor Poltapov

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#19: Anton Wahlberg

#18: Lukas Rousek

#17: Ryan Johnson

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#14: Henri Jokiharju