Dahlin preseason favorite for Calder Trophy

To mark the beginning of the 2018-19 regular season, NHL.com is running its first installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Calder Trophy.

Rasmus Dahlin is eager to begin what should be an eventful NHL rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres.
The 18-year-old defenseman, selected with the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, has passed all the tests leading up to this point, including an outstanding showing in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo earlier this month and a solid training camp.
"Every player out there (during preseason) knows hockey very well so it takes some time to learn how to handle it," Dahlin said.
Once he finds his stride, Dahlin might be a strong candidate for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year.
Dahlin is the favorite to win the award, according to a panel of 18 writers for NHL.com. Dahlin received eight first-place votes and 77 points in the poll.
Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson was second with 67 points (seven first-place votes), followed by Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov with 32 points (one first-place vote), Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt with 20 points (two first-place votes), and Dallas Stars defenseman
Miro Heiskanen
with 17 points.

Goran Stubb, the NHL Director of European Scouting, is as curious as anyone to see how Dahlin responds during his first season.
"The expectations from the fans is enormous, and it's not an easy situation for a teenager," Stubb said. "But if anyone can handle it, it's Rasmus Dahlin. I don't know him personally but from what I have seen on the ice and in the stands at the draft, I'm sure he can handle all surprises coming up during the season. He's always been a calm, mature young man.
"And I am sure he'll get the Sabres at least close to the Stanley Cup Playoffs already during his first season."
Sabres coach Phil Housley gave Dahlin high marks during training camp but said expectations should be tempered while Dahlin familiarizes himself with the NHL.
"He's a young man and going to make mistakes," Housley said. "One of hardest things for him is just knowing who he's playing against and the personnel and characteristics on everyone's team. It's going to take some time getting to know the players but he's pretty cool and calm. We're going to have some growing pains but I like that he still makes the plays. He'll make a mistake, but he's not afraid and very confident in his abilities, and we are too. As he moves forward I think he'll learn from these things because he's a smart hockey player."
Housley, himself a Hall of Fame defenseman, has been impressed by how far Dahlin has come already.
"His timing is really impeccable," Housley said. "He jumps into the play at the right time, and when he beats a guy he moves the puck right away and gets it up ice. The one thing I really like, every shot he takes it seems to hit the net. His development's where it needs to be right now."
Pettersson, 19, led the Swedish Hockey League with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 44 games last season, passing Kent Nilsson (53 points, 1975-76) for the most by a junior-age player. He also was named most valuable player in the regular season and playoffs after helping Vaxjo win the SHL championship with 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 13 playoff games.

Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis):Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, 77 points (eight first-place votes); Elias Pettersson, Canucks, 67 points (seven first-place votes); Andrei Svechnikov, Hurricanes, 32 points (one first-place vote); Casey Mittelstadt, Sabres, 20 points (two first-place votes); Miro Heiskanen, Stars, 17 points; Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, 13 points; Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators, 13 points; Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins, 9 points; Filip Chytil, New York Rangers, 5 points; Martin Necas, Hurricanes, 3 points;
Filip Zadina
, Detroit Red Wings, 3 points; Lias Andersson, Rangers, 3 points; Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild, 2 points; Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, 2 points; Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Montreal Canadiens, 1 point; Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers, 1 point; Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, 1 point.