It was a foregone conclusion once the Buffalo Sabres won the draft lottery to claim the NHL's number one overall draft pick - that they'd pick Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.  On Friday night in Dallas the Sabres made it official by naming Dahlin as their top pick. The 18-year old, 6-foot-3, 185 pound young man has been compared with some of the greatest defensemen ever to play the game.  He's been compared to Denis Potvin, Bobby Orr and Niklas Lidstrom.  Some observers say h's a better skater than Erik Karlson and he has a better shot than Victor Hedman. That's legendary stuff for a young man who hasn't even played a single NHL game.

What are his weaknesses?  Some scouts say he doesn't have any.  He's the kind of player who comes along once in a generation and he now belongs to the Buffalo Sabres.

Dahlin caught the attention of a lot of hockey fans when he dominated games during the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo.  He finished with six assists and was named Best Defenseman but Sweden fell short of the gold medal when they fell to Canada in the championship game. He'll be on the ice in Buffalo quickly.

The Sabres development camp opens on Wednesday, June 27th and runs thru Saturday, June 30th at Harbor Center.  The Wednesday, Thursday and Friday sessions are free and open to the public.  Saturday's 3-on-3 tournament is open only to season ticket holders.

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