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Get excited, Sabres fans: Rasmus Dahlin looked great at the NHL Combine

By Derek Grochowski

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 1: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) Rasmus Dahlin attends the Top Prospects Media Availability at the NHL Scouting Combine on June 1, 2018 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 1: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) Rasmus Dahlin attends the Top Prospects Media Availability at the NHL Scouting Combine on June 1, 2018 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The wait is almost over, Buffalo Sabres fans. Rasmus Dahlin took the next step toward becoming the first overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft at the NHL Scouting Combine.

More than 100 of the top NHL Draft prospects hit Buffalo, New York, for a combination of off- and on-ice testing this past weekend as part of the NHL Combine.

It would have taken a disaster of a showing for Rasmus Dahlin to fall out of his nearly guaranteed spot as the first overall spot in the draft. Luckily, he avoided disaster and is still looking like the top prospect. He did not finish in the top 10 of any categories but that is not a cause for concern.

Sabres fans will be happy to hear he was able to do 10 pull-ups at the Combine; that is 10 more than last year’s Sabres first-round pick, Casey Mittelstadt, did. Not to worry, Buffalo; Mittelstadt will still be a future star in the NHL.

This was also Rasmus Dahlin’s first chance to meet with the Buffalo Sabres organization. Each NHL team is given the opportunity to schedule meetings with the prospects it is most interested in. I

n an interview with Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Dahlin described what his interview was like with the Buffalo Sabres and General Manager Jason Botterill. “It was like all the other meetings. It was great,” Dahlin said. “Everything was fun in that meeting. It went pretty good.”.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1002698260308512769

If there is a team in the NHL that needs Dahlin most, it is the Buffalo Sabres. They have elite talent in the middle of the ice with Jack Eichel, Ryan O’ Reilly and Casey Mittelstadt. They need help on the wings, but their biggest issue is their blue line.

It is easy to forget that Rasmus Ristolainen is only 23 years old, but the way the Sabres lean on him has negatively affected him. He is a very good defenseman in this league. But is he a team’s No. 1 franchise defenseman? No, he is not.

Marco Scandella, who got traded for last summer, was going to take minutes away from Ristolainen. However, Ristolainen is still playing too many minutes on a bad team, a lot of that was due to injuries. The addition of Rasmus Dahlin will help spread out minutes and usage to make the entire team better.

What will the defense look like once Dahlin is playing for the Sabres? The return of Jake McCabe and Zach Bogosian will be very helpful. The Sabres are dying for a fully healthy season of Bogosian. He has yet to play a full season since being acquired in a trade. McCabe is a nice player who on a good team fills the fifth or sixth defenseman role.

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Dahlin will likely see limited action to at least start the season so expect him in the second defensive pairing. Dahlin can play both sides of the defense. Expect him to play with Marco Scandella or young prospect Brendan Guhle to start the season. That leaves Rasmus Ristolainen and whoever is left over from the Dahlin pairing to play the top role.

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