Rasmus Dahlin had an amazing season for the Buffalo Sabres. Let’s take a deeper dive into his unforgettable 2022-23 campaign.
After last year, fans were really encouraged with what they saw in Rasmus Dahlin. Going into this season, it seemed like he was poised to have an even better year. In 80 games played last season, the former first overall pick scored 13 goals and 40 assists.
In 2022-23, Rasmus Dahlin surpassed his previous single-season career highs in goals (13), assists (40) and points (53) in 47 games, which he had previously set in 80 games in 2021-22. On Jan. 23 at Dallas, Dahlin surpassed his previous single-season career high in goals scored… pic.twitter.com/fsNzkbL7XQ
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) April 20, 2023
As you can see in the tweet above, Dahlin did in fact have a better 2022-2023 season. With 15 goals and 58 assists in 78 games played, he got even better in the points department. I think it’s safe to say that Rasmus will be in the running for the Norris Trophy, which is given to the best defenseman in the NHL.
Buffalo Sabres defensemen Rasmus Dahlin enjoyed an incredible season
Looking at some of these plays, it’s absolutely amazing how good he is with the puck on his stick. As a result, he played in the All Star Game due to Tage Thompson not being able to play because of an injury.
RASMUS DAHLIN, WE ARE NOT WORTHY 🥵 pic.twitter.com/ea3TePXaOj
— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2023
Oh yeah, he also broke records. Check out these stats below, it’s amazing how much better he has gotten.
Rasmus Dahlin's 2022-23 so far: 5️⃣ goals in 5️⃣ games
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 23, 2022
The @BuffaloSabres defenseman became the third blueliner in the past 13 years to record a five-game goal streak, joining Cale Makar (5 GP in 2021-22) and Roman Josi (5 GP in 2019-20).#NHLStats: https://t.co/3tVv6JYpgm pic.twitter.com/T07xkNGdBg
If it wasn’t for Erik Karlsson having a season for the ages with the San Jose Sharks, I believe Dahlin would have a great shot at winning it. However, Dahlin’s skill is not what caught my eye while watching games this season.
Not only is Rasmus lethal offensively, but he is starting to become a player other players hate playing against. He is starting to lay some hits and at times, will stick up for his teammates.
Rasmus Dahlin with a huge hit💪 pic.twitter.com/b3XOb5pINC
— Everything Hockey (@EHClothing) December 5, 2022
Dahlin is not a little kid anymore. Put his amazing offense together with his physicality, he is going to be the complete package and will just continue to get better and better as the years go on. Sabres fans and people around the NHL are starting to see why Dahlin went first overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
He is one of the many talented players on the Sabres roster and will be one of the reasons why Buffalo could very well break the playoff drought next season if they continue to build around him and the core players.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)