Rasmus Dahlin is off to a hot start in Buffalo

After more than a decade of basement-dwelling, the Buffalo Sabres certainly can’t complain about their 3-1 start to the 2022-23 season. A lot of that can be attributed to the play of defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who set an NHL record for defenseman with goals in his first four games of the season.

Many expected the team’s other first overall pick defenseman, Owen Power, to lead the surge, but Dahlin is building off of last season and looking to do some damage in Buffalo this year.

Frank Seravalli and Matt Larkin talked on Daily Faceoff Live about the hot start for both the Buffalo Sabres and Rasmus Dahlin.

Matt Larkin: “I’m not actually that surprised to see it happening. I think people forget how young Rasmus Dahlin still is. It takes time to develop as a big, young defenseman. So here’s one of my big stats: 220 defensemen have played a game in the NHL this year. Only 16 of them are younger than Rasmus Dahlin. He’s younger than 92% of the defensemen playing in the NHL right now; that’s how young he still is. That’s how much time he still has left to develop.

And if you look at some comparable defensemen who were valued as first-round picks that took some time to develop: Victor Hedman’s breakout season in 2013-14, he was 22 years old. Chris Pronger’s breakout season in 1996-97, he turned 22 that October. How old is Rasmus Dahlin? He is 22 years old.”

Frank Seravalli: “Interesting, I love the stat. I mean, it’s perspective, right? That’s what you’re looking for when you’re asking, ‘What happened to this guy, Rasmus Dahlin?' A highly touted No. 1 overall pick who hasn’t really done a lot. Well, he hasn’t really been supported properly by the Buffalo Sabres, kind of like, ‘Hey, get in there in the NHL; let’s see what you got, kid.' This is not a developmental league, and I thought it was a great sign that Owen Power went back to college as a reminder for all of us that not everyone takes the same path. It’s not a straight line forward, and developing can sometimes come in peaks and valleys. And when you see Dahlin now starring on the big stage for the Sabres, that’s hugely important for this team and their future.

You know what else is hugely important? That would be Eric Comrie in net. Mike McKenna wrote a great story on DailyFaceoff.com earlier this week after Comrie basically stifled the Edmonton Oilers and their offense with another 40-plus-save performance, which he then repeated against the Calgary Flames. He said that he saw some traits in Comrie to start that maybe are proof that he can be the real deal after a guy that’s gone through waivers a few times. Could the Sabres finally have their goalie?

Matt Larkin: “I think it’s possible. I was kind of excited when I saw that they signed him because coming up in the Jets system as sort of a B-level prospect, he had a lot of potential, and he had a good major junior career, and he just hasn’t had that opportunity. And with all due respect to Craig Anderson, he’s getting up there in age. He’s not stiff competition, so I do think there’s a chance for Comrie to take this job and absolutely run with it.”

You can watch the full episode here…