MUNICH -- Rasmus Dahlin is both humbled and motivated after being named the Buffalo Sabres captain during a team dinner Thursday.
Kyle Okposo was Buffalo's previous captain until he was traded to the Florida Panthers last season.
"It's an honor," Dahlin said Friday after the Sabres morning skate at SAP Garden. "It's probably the proudest moment of my life. It means a lot to me. It's a big responsibility but I am ready for it, super excited. To do it with the team we have right now and where we're going, I feel like I can be a part of something big."
Dahlin will wear the 'C' on his sweater for the first time when the Sabres play EHC Red Bull Munchen in the 2024 NHL Global Series Challenge Germany presented by Fastenal at SAP Garden on Friday (2:30 p.m. ET; NHLN)
He was questionable to play when the Sabres arrived Wednesday because of a lower-body injury he sustained on the first day of training camp last week, but Dahlin has been a full participant in all three practices here and said he will be in the lineup against Red Bull.
The Sabres open the regular season a week from Friday against the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia by Fastenal. They will play two games at O2 Arena in Prague on Friday and Saturday.
"Well, in my eyes his actions speak volumes; the way he plays, the way he practices, the way he prepares and the respect he has from his teammates," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "All of those qualities are certainly very important if you're going to be a leader on the club."
Dahlin said he feels ready to be captain because of how much he has learned in his previous six seasons in the organization since the Sabres selected him with the first pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
The 24-year-old has played in 436 games and has 292 points (66 goals, 226 assists). The Sabres, though, have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011.
"I've seen a lot," Dahlin said. "I feel like I have the experience now and I feel like I have a lot to bring, and that's exciting."
His teammates are on board with Dahlin wearing the 'C'.
"He's been a great leader always on and off the ice," forward JJ Peterka said. "Especially when Okposo got traded last year he really stepped up and put the team under his wings. Since I got to Buffalo I've been looking up to him, so it wasn't a surprise to me."
Dahlin said he wants his leadership style to reflect what he learned from Joel Lundqvist when he played for Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League as a teenager.
Lundqvist, who is the twin brother to Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist, was Frolunda's captain from 2009 until he retired after the 2022-23 season. He made an impression on an impressionable Dahlin when they were teammates from 2016-18.
"He taught me a lot growing up," Dahlin said. "I got to play with him when I was 16 and 17 and the way he was carrying himself, his work ethic. He's retired but a year back or so, he was the oldest guy on the team but had the best fitness results of everybody. That's what I'm inspired by, and the way he handled everything around the rink. Everything was just great."
Lundqvist, reached by phone in Sweden, said Dahlin had the lead-by-example ability when he was a teenager.
"I heard a lot about him before I saw him in practice and from the first day he was on a different level at that age," Lundqvist said. "He could be shy and a little quiet in the beginning, but still he had so much confidence in what he was doing on the ice and off the ice. He led himself in such a good way. I had the same journey when I was young. I was pretty shy and quiet. I was just focusing on performance and playing well. That's leading. He's leading by his actions and hopefully he is more comfortable talking to the group now than when he was 16 and 17, a young kid. But I think that's his main thing with his leadership. He shows how to do it, how to do things on and off the ice. That's his biggest quality as a leader."
The Sabres were clear after training camp started that they were going to name a captain before they played a regular-season game in Prague.
Ruff, who was Buffalo's captain from November of 1986 through February of 1989, said he had discussions with general manager Kevyn Adams about the topic and was clear it would be important to the team.
It was particularly important to name a captain from the core group that has been together for the past few seasons.
The Sabres also announced forwards Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and Dylan Cozens, and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will serve as alternate captains on a rotating basis.
"I think this group is at the right age," Ruff said. "We've got a big group of guys at the age they can push each other. They've been together now for a number of years. It just seemed right."
Dahlin was the obvious choice to wear the 'C'.
"The main thing is just I have to be myself," Dahlin said. "I can't try to be something else. For me it's the work ethic. The leaders have to work the hardest to then be able to put pressure on the ice. I am not a very good speaker and stuff like that so I'd like to show it through my work ethic."
