Coming out of the 2018 NHL Draft, Rasmus Dahlin was touted as being the best defensive prospect in many, many years.
Comparisons for Dahlin were aplenty, with people linking him to the likes of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, as well as Hall of Fame defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Denis Potvin.
People who watched Dahlin raved about him being a potential No. 1 defenseman that teams all around the league would long desire for. The youngster was a smooth skating blue liner, who was a magician with the puck on his stick. The tempo of a hockey game could be dictated by Dahlin, whether he could make a perfect tape-to-tape pass to create an offensive chance, or he could take the puck himself and make an incredible play.
Not only was Dahlin the prototypical puck-moving and offensive defenseman all teams want in today's game, but he had the capability of being a solid, physical defenseman in his own zone, with the ability to be a revolutionary player in the transitional game.
The Sabres and former general manager Jason Botterill lucked out in the 2018 NHL Draft Lottery when the lottery balls fell Buffalo's way, giving them the No. 1 overall pick. The Sabres were gifted the chance to draft their franchise defenseman, and shore up an issue on the blue line for, hopefully, several years to come.
Year 1 in the NHL for Dahlin was a remarkable one. While the defensive game needed some growth at the professional level in North America, the 18-year-old, at the time, managed to score nine goals and register 35 assists for 44 points in 82 games played. He flashed some of his offensive prowess in his first season, and was a bright spot for the Sabres in another disappointing year that saw head coach Phil Housley lose his job.
Regardless of missing the playoffs again, the future was looking extremely bright for the young defenseman.
In Year 2 under new head coach Ralph Krueger, Dahlin's offensive game took a bit of a dip as the coaching staff looked to try and make him more of a reliable two-way defenseman in the NHL. Dahlin still managed to put up 40 points (4+36) in 59 games before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2019-20 season, but his play seemed to take more of a conservative approach under Krueger's system.
Through the first 10 games of the shortened 2020-21 season, Dahlin looks like a complete shell of what he was in his first two NHL seasons.
Sure, a 10-month layoff from hockey is certainly a challenge for most players, but at 5-on-5, Dahlin is a mess. He's not been scoring while playing at even strength, along with most of the team, his advanced stats have dipped, and his confidence has looked to take a significant hit on the ice.
However, this is not entirely on Dahlin.
While Dahlin gets every chance to score and produce points being the point man on the top power play unit with the likes of Jack Eichel, Victor Olofsson, Sam Reinhart and Taylor Hall, he's being restricted from being the offensive defenseman he's truly capable of being.
Krueger's system has not really allowed Dahlin to carry the puck into the offensive zone, which he has proven to be very good at, and that has led to some timid play on the ice. Despite seeing some open space to skate with the puck into the zone and use his speed and strength to start the attack, Dahlin has been looking to dump the puck off to another forward to carry the puck into the zone, or has ripped it in for others to chase down.
Those indecisions with the puck have not only led to some confidence issues for Dahlin, but it has also led to some glaring turnovers and failed opportunities to control the puck in the offensive zone.
Dahlin has gone from being a defenseman with little to no panic in his game with the puck on his stick, to being a liability in some instances.
How does a 20-year-old defenseman, who put up the second-most points (84) as a teenager in NHL history, all of the sudden look completely shell-shocked in just his third season after being the No. 1 overall pick in 2018?
While watching Dahlin struggle and being restricted with his style of game, it's hard not to have a certain movie quote continuously replaying over-and-over again relating to the Sabres defenseman.
In the movie "The Other Guys", one of the main characters named Terry is letting off some steam about being cooped up in the office of his precinct while other detectives are on the move with cases. In his rage, he yells to his fellow detectives, "You can't keep me cooped up in here, okay?! I am a peacock! You've got to let me fly!"
Yes, it's understandable that the Sabres want Dahlin to be a solid two-way defenseman in the NHL, but to handcuff him in this way is not the way to handle one of their best players on the roster.
Before the Sabres even got the chance to draft Dahlin in the 2018 draft, we got the chance on WGR to get "Dialed in on Dahlin", talking to a number of his coaches, former teammates, and others who followed his young career in Sweden. When hearing about what's to come from Dahlin, we heard about the talent, the work ethic and how he handled the lime light as well as he did. What mostly stood out about those conversations, though, is how his play can elevate the level of play from his teammates, and that he was pushed to play his style of game and learn from the mistakes as he goes.
"When he first came in [to Frolunda HC], he wanted to please everybody. He wanted to play safe, don't make any mistakes," said Par Johansson, his defensive coach with Frolunda in Sweden. "We wanted to push him to make those mistakes, push him to play the same style of play with the puck that he did with the Under-18 [Swedish National] team or the Under-20 team. ... When he realized that we allowed him to make those mistakes; there's going to be some mistakes in the beginning, and he just kept on going and then he just exploded with the puck. When he realized that they're not going to bench me if I make a mistake here, then he just went all in and got better and better."
Yes, the North American style of game is completely different to that in Europe. Yes, he's a few more years older now and has to be that complete defenseman at the NHL level.
However, it's important to get the confidence of your franchise defenseman back in order, and allowing him to play more free and be more of that offensive threat from the blue line may be just the key.
Of course, there is risk with allowing Dahlin play a more free style of play given the defensive group and the system the Sabres play.
Dahlin's been mostly paired with two defensemen through the first 10 games of the season: Colin Miller and Brandon Montour. The production of the pairings for Dahlin has been close to the same, but they have been generally giving up a similar amount of shots and chances-against. Montour is more of a mobile defenseman, like Dahlin, who can be more aggressive from the blue line, where as Miller can be more of the stay-at-home defenseman and contribute offensively when presented an opportunity.
Both players are certainly capable of slotting in alongside Dahlin on the blue line, but neither player may be the best fit in case Dahlin gets aggressive and decides to join an offensive rush in some way.
When looking at the other possible options to play with on the blue line, Rasmus Ristolainen can certainly keep up with the workload, but he often times is aggressive on the offensive side of the game, and he has fit well with Jake McCabe as one of the better defensive pairings in the entire NHL this season.
As for Henri Jokiharju, he may be a better option to play with Dahlin with his two-way defensive abilities. He has the sustainability to be utilized in a much greater capacity, and is reliable in his own end while being able to capitalize on an offensive chance when given the opportunity.
Perhaps, a better option for Dahlin on the right side of the blue line is Will Borgen, who has yet to get into any game action this season.
The 24-year-old right-handed defenseman is a workhorse on the blue line, who is exceptionally gifted with his two-way play over the course of his playing career. He's very solid on his feet, he skates extremely well for his size, and he can eat any type of minutes in all sorts of situations. Borgen may not total a bunch of points or be a dangerous offensive threat from the blue line, but he can subtly contribute while being a very reliable presence in the defensive end.
A player like Borgen may allow for Dahlin to be able to go out and play more free and gain his confidence back, while still being confident on the back end if play starts to come back the other way.
Unfortunately for Dahlin, it is not known when we will see him back on the ice after he entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocols on Monday. He became the ninth Sabres player to enter the protocols since the NHL pressed pause on Buffalo's season on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Whenever we get the chance to see Dahlin back with the team for on-ice activities, hopefully the team can find a way to get his confidence back, and also find a way to let him get back to the captivating, smooth skating, offensive defenseman that he is, and that many Sabres fans hope he will be for years to come in Buffalo.