Sharpen Up: June 19, 2019

Will Rasmus Dahlin be named the NHL's Rookie of the Year? We'll find out tonight at the NHL Awards. Festivities from Las Vegas will begin at 8 p.m. on NBCSN.

Rookie of the Year?

Dahlin, who played the entire season as an 18-year-old defenseman, was selected with the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. He led rookies at his position in points (44), assists (35) and power-play points (20), and finished second in goals (nine) and average ice time (21:09) behind Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars, who had 12 goals and averaged 23:07 of ice time.
Dahlin was the fifth defenseman in NHL history with at least 30 points before his 19th birthday (53 games), and his four game-winning goals were an NHL record for an 18-year-old defenseman.
The Sabres controlled 51.95 percent of all shots with Dahlin on the ice, and he was tied for third on the Sabres in takeaways (38), and fifth in blocked shots (66) and hits (97).
We built up his case for the award here. It's definitely worth checking out.

Mark your calendars

The Sabres released their preseason schedule yesterday. They'll play twice at KeyBank Center, three times as the road team, and at Penn State.
Here's the full schedule:
Mon, Sept. 16: Sabres vs. Penguins - 7 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena (Penn State University)
Tues., Sept. 17: Sabres at Blue Jackets - 7 p.m. at Nationwide Arena
Fri., Sept. 20: Sabres at Maple Leafs - 7 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena
Sat., Sept. 21: Maple Leafs vs. Sabres - 7 p.m. at KeyBank CenterWed., Sept. 25: Blue Jackets vs. Sabres - 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center
Sun., Sept. 28: Sabres at Penguins - 3 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena
Ticket info and more to come.

Draft Week continues

The first round of the 2019 NHL Draft begins Friday night. Buffalo holds the seventh-overall pick. Stay tuned later today as Brian Duff and Martin Biron take a trip back in time and talk about players who were taken in that spot.
Our on-site coverage will begin today from Vancouver so stay tuned to Sabres.com and our social channels.