ARLINGTON, V.A. — When the Washington Capitals brought in Jakob Chychrun this offseason, Rasmus Sandin felt some pressure.
With another top left-handed defender coming into the mix — and one who could rip the puck and work magic on offense — he had to take his game to a higher level, and change it a bit, too.
So, Sandin went to work, transforming his game and ultimately, changing his identity. It worked wonders for him and D.C.
“(The season taught me a lot about) just my role,” Sandin said. “I think that switched for the season. Adding Chychrun, the skill-set that he has, I think for me, it was more about really accepting the challenge and playing a little bit more of defensive sequences.”
Sandin improved tremendously at both ends of the ice and shined in a career year, picking up four goals and 26 assists for 30 points, along with a plus/minus of plus-13. He proved able to fit in anywhere in the lineup, and primarily worked with John Carlson on a shutdown top pairing.
“I took big steps playing without the puck, just playing a smarter way, using my stick more, using my feet more, something we’ve been working a lot (on) with the coaching staff and stuff,” Sandin said.
When it comes to what helped him take that step forward, Sandin credited the coaching staff as well as added responsibility on defense.
“I start a lot in the defensive zone and we talked about playing good defense… that’s something I learned a lot, just how to play defense in a different way that can be more effective for me and my type of size and stuff like that,” Sandin said.
Sandin will head back to Sweden this summer and train with the Nylander brothers, while also continuing to build on his game. And ultimately, when he’s back for fall, he’s looking forward to taking his game even further.
“(This year’s been) something to build on for sure,” Sandin said.