It’s safe to say Buffalo Sabres fans were livid when they found out Rasmus Dahlin had been snubbed from the 2023 NHL All-Star Game.
One of the league’s best defensemen, Rasmus Dahlin somehow lost out on the All-Star Game voting and it looked as though he’d be watching the game on television from Buffalo. Then Tage Thompson sustained an upper body injury, and it became clear the Buffalo Sabres best forward would be a no-go at the big game.
So who’s filling in for Tage? None other than Dahlin, who deserved an appearance all along. Ideally, we’d have seen Tage and Dahlin in the game together, but at the end of the day, the stars have aligned for Dahlin, and he will be representing the Blue and Gold in Sunrise, Florida.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman deserved an ASG appearance all along
Through 49 contests, Dahlin has 55 points, 14 goals, and 41 assists, already besting his numbers from last season – 53 points, 13 goals, and 40 assists in 80 games. He also scored a goal in each of the Buffalo Sabres first five games, which is both a franchise and an NHL record. Dahlin also leads all skaters on the team in average total ice time, at 26:07 per game.
Broken down in league circles, only Erik Karlsson (16 goals) found the net more than Dahlin. Dahlin’s 55 points also rank second among NHL defensemen, also behind Karlsson (66 points).He’s also grown into a rather edgy player this season, as his 64 penalty minutes places him 11th in the NHL.
Dahlin’s aggression has been on display numerous times on a team that lacks physicality. We’ve seen multiple open-ice hits, and even more instances where he puts on an enforcer/tough guy face in coming to the aid of teammates. Overall, Dahlin has grown into an even better two-way player this season, and it foreshadows what he’s going to look like in the not-so-distant future.
He was more than deserving to replace Tage Thompson at the All-Star Game this season. And you can expect that he will put on even more of a show at this year’s Midseason Showcase than he did last year, where he impressed in the accuracy challenge.
Article Source: ‘Special player’: Rasmus Dahlin steps into spotlight for Sabres at NHL All-Star Weekend by Lance Lysowski
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