Much like the relationship he has with the city of Buffalo.<\/p>\n
And the one its people have with him.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t always seem like the perfect fit. Dahlin, the No. 1 overall pick by the Sabres in the 2018 NHL Draft, was a blond-haired defenseman from Sweden whose finesse game was based on flash and dash, not the grit and grind appreciated by this blue-collar community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Generally unfamiliar to life in North America, he came as a naive 18-year-old to a city and team that hadn’t been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in seven years. He immediately was cast in the role of a franchise savior, an unfair expectation that he wasn\u2019t ready for and should never have been forced to deal with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, that, rightly or wrongly, was the reality of the situation. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine it would take the first eight years of his career for the Sabres to reach the playoffs, ending an NHL-record 14-season postseason drought.<\/p>\n
In that time, he\u2019s gone from a shy, introverted rookie to the in-your-face captain of the Sabres, the guy who, at any moment, might skate through an opponent instead of around him and is the first player in a scrum-type setting to come to the aid of a teammate. In the process, he\u2019s watched other players ask out of Buffalo, all the while determined to stay and help the franchise get to the postseason once again.<\/p>\n
And now, come Sunday, the wait will be over. After so much hardship, so much adversity, he\u2019ll get his first taste of NHL playoff hockey when the Sabres host the Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, NESN, MSG-B, SN1, SN360, TVAS).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cYou feel it around the city. Just driving to the rink every day, usually all you see is Buffalo Bills stuff in the backyard. But now it\u2019s changed to Sabres stuff. And the whole vibe, I mean, you see it in everything, restaurants, grocery stores. You can really feel it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, there’s been I think a lot of adversity, but through that eventually success has to come. You work so hard for eight years, the success has to come sometime. And I’ve always believed in that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s been a grind, but when it changes, that feeling is indescribable. It’s just \u2026 it’s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Dahlin and his teammates. For the franchise. And for the long-suffering fans in this community who have fallen in love with the Sabres captain, just like he has with them.<\/p>\n
* * * *<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to fathom just how far Dahlin has come from the teenager who came to Washington on June 5, 2018, with six other top draft prospects, a group that also included Brady Tkachuk<\/a> and Quinn Hughes<\/a>, to be introduced to the media and attend Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n I spent that day with him documenting his experiences, and one conclusion stood out.<\/p>\n He was like a kid in awe.<\/p>\n From meeting fellow Swede Nicklas Backstrom<\/a> and Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin<\/a>\u00a0at the morning skate, to being onstage with the Stanley Cup in front of 5,000 people during a late-afternoon outdoor concert by Fall Out Boy, young Rasmus was having the experience of a lifetime.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m starting to realize how big this all is,\u201d he told NHL.com at the time, adding that \u201cthis is all starting to sink in.\u201d<\/p>\n That evening, he attended his first NHL game, a 6-2 Capitals victory against the Golden Knights. Less than three weeks later, he was the top pick in the draft. Come October, he was making his NHL debut for the Sabres.<\/p>\n It was a whirlwind, to be sure. A lot to take in such a short time.<\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t get any easier.<\/p>\n He endured an assembly line of coaches, from Phil Housley<\/a>\u00a0to Ralph Krueger to Don Granato to current bench boss Lindy Ruff. The list of general managers has consisted of Jason Botterill, Kevyn Adams and Jarmo Kekalainen, who has the job now.<\/p>\n In that time, he saw skilled veterans like Ryan O’Reilly<\/a>, Jack Eichel<\/a> and Sam Reinhart<\/a>\u00a0seek a change of scenery. So many changes, both on and off the ice. The only thing that didn\u2019t change was the losing.<\/p>\n