BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin was so determined to not spend another lengthy offseason working out alone in his native Sweden that the Buffalo defenseman invited his teammates to attend an informal weeklong minicamp and bonding session near the Swiss Alps in July.
“Usually, I never see anyone during the summer,” Dahlin recalled “So it was good to meet my teammates when it’s no pressure, no games involved. Just hang out.” They skated and ate together.
Boated on Lake Geneva. And they golfed — poorly, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen joked. Most importantly, the dozen or so Sabres in attendance — many of them Europeans, with defensemen Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson traveling from North America — enjoyed an opportunity to connect amid the wondrous scenery of Lausanne without the distractions that arise once the season opens.
“You really got to know the real person, not the in-season person, which is different,” Dahlin said. Of significance, the get-together represented the latest step in Dahlin’s evolution as the Sabres' leader, coupled with the seventh-year player’s urgency to end what’s become an NHL-record 13-year playoff drought . “He took charge right away,” forward JJ Peterka said of how Dahlin booked the ice, gym, hotel rooms and organized post-practice outings.
“I think Ras really took the next step and took the whole team under his wing.” Buffalo enters the season planning to name a new captain after the title was left vacant once .