Rasmus Dahlin (; born 13 April 2000) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

and an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). Having been referred to as the most talented player available in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

class, Dahlin was selected first overall in the draft by the Sabres.

Playing career

In the 2016–17 season, Dahlin scored his first Swedish Hockey League (SHL) goal with

Frölunda HC Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where ...

on 12 November 2016 in a game against

Karlskrona HK Karlskrona HK is a Swedish ice hockey club located in Karlskrona, Sweden, established in 2001. They played three seasons in the top-tier Swedish Hockey League (SHL) between the 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons. Their home arena is NKT Arena K ...

Prior to the

, Dahlin was widely considered the top prospect. He was described as a smart two-way defenceman with a great set of tools, including skating, puck handling, vision, intelligence and shot. Dan Marr of the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the prof ...

described him as an exceptionally talented prospect that would be able to impact his team's fortune in a way similar to

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ott ...

and

Victor Hedman Victor Erik Olof Hedman (; born 18 December 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hedman was selected second overall by the Lightning in the ...

. On 22 June 2018, Dahlin was drafted first overall by the

in the Draft. He was the first Swedish player to be drafted first overall since

Mats Sundin Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, and the second Swede overall to accomplish the feat. On July 9, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres. Dahlin participated at the Sabres' training camp and made the opening night roster for the 2018–19 season. He made his NHL debut on October 4 in a 4–0 loss to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

. Dahlin recorded his first career NHL goal on October 13 in a 3–0 win over the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

. On 9 February 2019, after a win over the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, Dahlin became the fifth defenceman in NHL history to record 30 points before age 19. Following his rookie season, Dahlin was named as one of the three finalists for the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

as the top rookie in the NHL. On 22 September 2021, Dahlin signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Sabres. He enjoyed a breakout 2021-22 season, posting new career highs in goals, assists and points and was named to the

2022 National Hockey League All Star Game The 2022 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on February 5, 2022, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, the home of the Vegas Golden Knights. For the sixth consecutive All-Star Game, a three-on-three format was used, with teams represe ...

. Dahlin opened the 2022–23 season by setting an NHL record for goals by a defenceman in consecutive opening games, at four, as part of a resurgent Sabres team.

International play

At age 16, Dahlin was the youngest player to ever dress for Sweden at the

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

, and the youngest player overall in the

2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 41st edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship (WJC or WM20). The main tournament was co-hosted by the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec and the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario ...

. Dahlin competed in the

2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 42nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, and was hosted by the city of Buffalo, New York at the KeyBank Center and HarborCenter. It opened on December 26, 2017 and closed wit ...

for Sweden, recording six assists and helping lead the team to win silver. He was named the tournament's top defenceman after scoring the second-most points amongst tournament defencemen. After Dahlin and several other teammates removed their silver medals after receiving them during the medal ceremony, he was suspended for the first two games of the

2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Mus ...

. Dahlin also represented the Swedish senior team at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

, becoming the youngest player to compete in the 2018 tournament, and the youngest to compete in the men's hockey tournament since 1984.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahlin, Rasmus 2000 births Living people Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Frölunda HC players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics National Hockey League first-overall draft picks National Hockey League first-round draft picks Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden People from Trollhättan Swedish ice hockey defencemen Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County