Patience has been a key for Olofsson, who was drafted by the Sabres during the seventh round in 2014. Known then as a potentially undersized forward with a deadly shot, Olofsson honed his all-around game for four more seasons in the Swedish Hockey League before coming to North America.
Olofsson spent the majority of his first North American season in Rochester, where he burst onto the scene with 30 goals and 63 points. He ended that 2018-19 campaign with a six-game stint in Buffalo, where he enticed the fanbase with two goals and two assists.
That small-sample success was vindicated last season. Olofsson won NHL Rookie of the Month honors in October and December while playing primarily on the top line alongside Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. He tied for second among league rookies with 20 goals despite missing 15 games due to injury.
He was recognized after the season with a spot on the NHL's All-Rookie Team, becoming the first Sabres player to receive the honor since Eichel in 2016.
"I wasn't really expecting any of it, especially after my injury and had a little bit of a tougher time there at the end of the season," Olofsson said of the honor. "I'm very happy for it. It kind of shows that you played very good hockey last year so I'm happy and I'm excited for it."
The season also provided a blueprint for how to improve. The burden of playing top-line minutes inspired Olofsson to spend the elongated offseason focusing on his conditioning. The opportunity of facing opposing teams' best players motivated him to work on his defense.
"I've been working very hard," he said. "Last year was probably the most minutes I've ever played in my career so far and I felt like sometimes I got a little bit tired playing up to almost 20 minutes and even over 20 minutes sometimes. So, I've been working very hard with my endurance and still trying to become even quicker and faster out there."
On offense, meanwhile, Olofsson said he wants to become "an even bigger threat" - an exciting proposition given where his production last season stood in Sabres history. Olofsson's goals per game (.37) ranks seventh in franchise history among rookies who played at least 40 games.
Where he will be utilized on offense remains to be seen, given the offseason acquisition of Taylor Hall. Olofsson spent most of last season playing on the left wing alongside Eichel and Reinhart, but coach Ralph Krueger has said he expects to try Hall - also left wing - alongside Eichel.
Olofsson, a left shot, said he is comfortable offensively playing on the right wing - perhaps even more so than on the left - so he could be a candidate to move to the right alongside Hall and Eichel. He could also play alongside one of Buffalo's two new centers in Eric Staal or Cody Eakin.
"However we do it, I feel like our top two lines are going to be really good and I feel like we're probably gonna get even more secondary scoring this year," he said.
