The draft pick from 2018 has just finished his fourth season in the NHL and set a new personal best in goals (13), assists (40), points (53) and ice time per game (24.01 on average).
Several in the Buffalo Sabers' organization have testified about how the Swedish back star has grown into a leader.
Dahlin himself describes the season as "a lift".
- I have received a lot of trust from the new coaches, but I have also gotten older, it probably has a lot to do with it as well.
I have developed both as a person and as a player.
"Always wanted to be a leader"
Trollhättesonen thinks that the development of the season had as much to do with personal maturity as with the purely game-like out on the ice.
- I have grown every year and become more accustomed to everything around, which leads to the ice.
I am calmer before matches and more mature afterwards, for example if I have had a bad match I erase it and move on.
Many testify that you came in at the beginning of this NHL season with a huge drive?
- I have always had the drive and always wanted to be a leader, but just this year I got that part.
I have to thank our coaches who have helped me along the way and always believed in me.
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"A little trick" - Dahlin puts 4-0
"An extreme tuition fee"
To go as number one in the draft comes with high expectations from outside. How has it been?
- The first years were very educational.
This has been a very good year and I should not say that they were bad before, but they have not gone exactly as I wanted and then you get criticism from the rest of the world.
It has been an extreme lesson, above all I have learned that "outside noise does not matter".
Dahlin has also been a leading player during the World Cup in Tampere.
After the group game, he is Tre Kronor's leading scorer with seven points (2 + 5) in as many matches.
He also has the most ice time in the team.
- It has gone well in the group game and it is easy to play in a team like this.
Sometimes you are lucky and then comes the point.
But that's right now, so now you forget everything that happened in the group game and start over with a new ball.
"High on the wish list"
During Dahlin's four seasons in the NHL, Buffalo has been out of the playoffs.
Add to that that the Swede has not played the World Cup before and that the NHL pros were not allowed to come to the Olympics in February.
How high on the wish list is a playoff game in the NHL?
- That's what we play for every single year, so it's high on the wish list.
I have not played that much playoff hockey in the last four years, so it will be extremely fun today to play hockey when it is really serious.
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Swedish among Finns.
Photo: Viaplay