'It's a slow burn' | How Dahlin has emerged as a leader with Sabres

Kyle Okposo first saw the fire in Rasmus Dahlin in 2018, when Dahlin was an 18-year-old rookie in Buffalo and only months removed from being selected first overall in the NHL Draft.
Dahlin was as competitive as he was talented, but his emotions ran high and low.
"Now it burns a little bit differently," Okposo said recently. "The same fire is still in there for him, the stove just isn't at 700 degrees, it's at 350. And it's more of a slow burn where the meat's going to be cooked well, like it's going to be exactly the way it should be."
Dahlin, supported by the freedom to play fearlessly from coach Don Granato and the "be yourself" culture fostered by veterans like Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons, experienced a year of growth in 2021-22, evolving from talented prospect to team leader in the process.
The role was made official this past weekend. With Okposo's appointment as the 20th full-time captain in Sabres history, Dahlin was announced as an alternate alongside Girgensons.

"It's a big honor," Dahlin said in the hallway outside the Sabres dressing room, where the wall is adorned with past leaders such as Gilbert Perreault, Danny Gare and Pat LaFontaine.
"I've seen a lot of great captains on the walls here since I got to Buffalo," he said. "It's always been kind of a little bit of a dream. I'm very proud. I'm just going to make sure I keep working even harder."

The fire

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Martin and Asa Dahlin were asked what the people of Buffalo should know about their son inside a suite in American Airlines Center in Dallas, hours after Rasmus was drafted.
They didn't hesitate.
"He's competitive," both parents answered concurrently.
Little by little, Dahlin - reserved and respectful off the ice - showed his competitive fire upon joining the Sabres. Matej Pekar challenged Dahlin with an open-ice hit during their first development camp together. Dahlin returned the favor with a hit of his own the very next day. The two sat with each other and joked about the exchange later that day.
Behind the scenes, teammates were getting an even closer look. The defenseman's competitiveness has become well-known inside the Sabres dressing room, and it extends beyond hockey.
It showed itself most recently inside the RapidShot virtual shooting booth inside KeyBank Center, which has an accompanying app that notifies players of new scores. Dahlin owned the high score in the game until Casey Mittelstadt - his roommate upon entering the NHL - broke it. Dahlin received the notification, went back to the booth, and played until he broke Mittelstadt's record.
The rivalry extends between Dahlin and Mittelstadt back to Ping-Pong games at their apartment, which Mittelstadt says cost them a couple rackets over the years.
And when Dahlin loses?
"Oh, he's mad," Mittelstadt said. "Just, anger. Even golf, like he's a good golfer. He gets angry. It's just Ras. He's competitive in everything he does."
Mattias Samuelsson, who was drafted one day after Dahlin and is now his defensive partner, expanded on Dahlin's wrath.
"It's like a fun mad, but he does get mad," Samuelsson said. "He'll laugh it off in the end, but he's getting mad at himself. He'll curse himself out. Yeah, he wants to win."
It's fun and games on a Ping-Pong table or the golf course. But on the ice, teammates say, Dahlin's competitiveness raises the standard of everyone around him.

Granato was sure to point out after games last season how Dahlin showed his willingness to engage in battles with bigger, stronger players in front of the net or in the corners. In practice, Dahlin challenges teammates who don't meet the standard.
"Rasmus is willing to earn it," Granato said. "He chirps another teammate in practice, he'll go harder than them. He'll challenge the guy in practice and call him out, and then he'll hop in line and go 1-on-1 against him and say, 'I'll show you what I'm talking about. You, you're not going hard enough and you're not competing hard enough.' So, he'll back what he says."
Next to his competitiveness, it's his consistency that teammates respect. Alex Tuch noticed it shortly into his Sabres tenure last winter, prompting him to describe Dahlin as a leader to the media. Ask any teammate, and they'll tell you Dahlin brings it every day.
"He's going as hard as he can, trying to win every drill, every battle," Mittelstadt said. "He's a big part of our team and he's a big leader for us."

The talent

Samuelsson has only been Dahlin's teammates for half a season, yet he has to think hard when trying to pick out the most incredible feat he's seen from his defense partner.

There was the goal against Dallas in January, when Dahlin - preying on man-to-man coverage - weaved through multiple defenders and tucked in a backhand attempt from in tight.

Or maybe it was the overtime goal in Vancouver, when Dahlin cut to the slot for the cherry on top of a dominant individual performance.
"It just looks so easy, and it's not," Samuelsson said. "But it looked easy for him."
Or maybe it was one of the countless moments in practice when Dahlin forced his teammates to shake their heads in disbelief.
"It's something every day, honestly," Mittelstadt said. "Something new. He just makes crazy plays with the puck, just batting pucks out of the air and making spin moves with guys right on him. Every day it's something new and it's fun to watch."
With the directive to play instinctively and without the fear of making mistakes, Dahlin's skill blossomed during his first full season playing for Granato. His 53 points were the most by a Sabres defenseman since Gary Galley in 1995-96. His 13 goals were the most since Jordan Leopold in 2010-11.
He did this while playing top-pair minutes for the first time in his career, learning how to stay productive while competing against opponents' top lines on a nightly basis. He played in his first All-Star Game, an important step to helping him realize he could hold up alongside the NHL's top players.

"[I learned] to take more of a leadership group mentality, to handle pressure, handle setbacks or whatever you call it," he said after the season. "I've learned to play more minutes. I've learned to not get caught up in mistakes on the ice. It's a lot. It's been a year of growth and I'm happy about it."
He learned to be himself - the funny, competitive teammate; the dazzling playmaker; the fiery leader.
"I think he's really grown into who he is as a leader and as a person," Okposo said. "And it's somebody that is very, very easy to naturally get behind."