"I know these are highlights and he's a young man and has to mature and really get to the NHL and North American game," Housley told the newspaper. "But just seeing his poise and his hockey IQ of processing the game at a high speed is really, really something."
The Sabres won the Draft Lottery after failing to do so in 2015, when they selected center Jack Eichel at No. 2 after center Connor McDavid went to the Edmonton Oilers at No. 1, and in 2014, when they picked forward Sam Reinhart No. 2 after defenseman Aaron Ekblad went No. 1 to the Florida Panthers.
"After the previous drafts, we've got some tremendous players, but this was a very unique opportunity," Housley said. "The way the game is played now, the way the game is going, a player like Rasmus Dahlin can really change a franchise."
Eichel entered the NHL the season immediately after being drafted, and Housley said Dahlin is likely to follow that path.
"He's more mature beyond his years, but he's still a young man and we've got to protect him, and we will," Housley said. "There will be pressure riding on him and he's going to make mistakes. He's a young player in the NHL who will have to learn who he's playing against and their characteristics.
"We have to watch the 82-game schedule and what a grind that is for a young player. It will probably take a year just to learn all the players in the League. But with the hockey sense and mobility he has, he can adapt right away."
