When the Buffalo Sabres traded Kyle Okposo late last season, the obvious heir apparent to the captaincy, Rasmus Dahlin, refused to think about wearing the prestigious letter.
If Dahlin, 24, earned the honor, he wanted it to happen organically. So for seven months, the Swede said he kept focusing on being “the best version of myself.”
“When it’s not really organic, it’s kind of forced, that’s not a good thing in my opinion,” he said on a Zoom call prior to Friday’s exhibition game in Munich, Germany. “So it had to just come naturally and, honestly, that’s what happened.”
During a team dinner Thursday in Munich, coach Lindy Ruff named Dahlin the 21st full-time captain in franchise history, handing him a blue No. 26 jersey with the ‘C’ as his teammates applauded.
When Ruff called his name, the ultra-talented defenseman said he experienced “a thousand emotions.”
“To get to do it with this team and where we’re at, or where I am in my career and what we are capable of and what we can do, just to be a part of that, it’s special,” he said.
To Dahlin, the way in which the Sabres have been assembled makes them a special team.
“I would say the group is organically built,” he said.
There’s that word again. Dahlin, who’s beginning his seventh NHL season, understands the components of a hockey team – whether it’s the captaincy or the roster – must come together naturally. Nothing can be forced.
While the Sabres are coming off a bitterly disappointing season in which they mustered just 84 points and extended the franchise’s NHL-record playoff drought to 13 years, Dahlin’s belief hasn’t wavered.
“We’ve built this from the ground and we have something really good going on,” he said. “Everyone is on the same (page), everyone is wanting the same thing. … Everyone says the journey’s more fun than the results, so we’re right in it, and I think we can do something really cool.”
Dahlin, the first overall pick in 2018, said he has viewed himself as a leader since he was child and always tried to act as one. He mostly does that through his work ethic and often dynamic play.
He plans to pick his spots to use his voice.
“You got to have good timing with that stuff,” he said. “The day-to-day stuff, you can work really hard. I show by actions. But being a vocal leader, you definitely need it sometimes. I’ve learned a lot.”
As a teenager beginning his pro career with Frolunda, a Swedish Hockey League team, Dahlin said he watched center Joel Lundqvist, the twin brother of Hall of Fame goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Dahlin said Joel, Frolunda’s captain, “inspired me in many ways.”
“He’s such a good person,” he said. “But then he worked so unbelievably hard. A couple years back he was the oldest guy on the team but he still worked the hardest, he had the best fitness results. He was always the guy that worked the hardest. That’s what I love about him as a leader.”
During the past few seasons, Dahlin, who served as an alternate captain for two years, said Okposo taught him how to handle himself and others.
“He was big on everyone just getting treated the same,” he said. “It was a lot of respect around him.”
Dahlin will have help as a leader. The Sabres also named some of his closest friends – centers Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson, winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson – alternate captains. They will rotate the letter.
“All those guys are unbelievable people and great hockey players,” Dahlin said. “But what I’m most excited about is how hard they work and how much they want to have success in Buffalo. All those guys absolutely love Buffalo and they want to do something special here.
“I’m very happy those guys got called. We are ready to go to war for each other.”