Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - While the hockey season is still more than a month away, Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin has been getting some high praise from pundits at the NHL Network this offseason.
With it being the quarter-century mark of the 2000s this year, the network ranked its top-25 players currently in the league born this century. Dahlin, born on April 13, 2000, ended up earning the No. 1 ranking as the best player in the NHL born since 2000.
The former first overall pick of the Sabres in the 2018 NHL Draft has already suited up in 509 games for Buffalo, scoring 83 goals from the blue line and adding a league-best 277 assists for 360 points. Dahlin trails only Andrei Svechnikov (364) for the most points scored among players born this quarter-century.
Dahlin also ranks among the best players born since 2000 in the following categories:
- Games played: 509 (1st)
- Total TOI: 11,844:52 (1st)
- Goals: 83 (11th – 1st among D)
- Shot blocks: 637 (4th)
- Hits: 771 (5th)
In addition, Dahlin has been ranked by NHL Network as the seventh-best defenseman currently in the league in their top-20 rankings. He jumps four spots from where the NHL Network ranked the 24-year-old last year.
This past season, Dahlin finished fourth in league scoring among defensemen with 68 points, fifth in goal scoring (17), tied for sixth with assists (51) and fifth in shots on goal (200). His performance was good enough for a sixth-place finish in voting for the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman.
Dahlin is one of 10 defensemen in league history to accumulate 360 or more points through his age 24 season. He’s the first blue liner to achieve that mark since Brian Leetch in the 1992-93 season with the New York Rangers.
Along with Dahlin's success at the NHL level comes his accolades at the international level, earning a spot on Sweden's 4 Nations Face-Off roster this past February, as well as the nation's roster for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
Related
Another notable Sabres player earning recognition from NHL Network this offseason is Tage Thompson, who was ranked the 18th-best center currently in the NHL.
This past season saw Thompson rebound with the Sabres after a bit of a down season the year before, putting up 44 goals and adding 28 assists for 72 points in 76 games played.