Dahlin used extended offseason to prepare for next step in his career

Rasmus Dahlin made it his goal heading into this past offseason to add muscle as an aid to his defensive gain. The results showed in the weight column.
Dahlin has been listed at 207 pounds, up from 193 at the start of last season.
"Dahlin has really used the time properly," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said days before camp opened. "Hopefully by far the longest break in his career. Very few players have it at that age where you can still put on so much muscle mass."

Dahlin began noticing strides in his defensive play after returning from a concussion last December. He cited a variety of factors, including growing familiarity with opponents. Assistant coach Steve Smith pointed out in February how Dahlin has begun to adjust his body and stick positioning depending on who he was going to battle against, adjusting for the size of his opponent.
"Some of those bigger, stronger guys, you just learn how to take away their hands versus trying to contain a guy who's 220 pounds," Smith said. "It's not going to be an easy task for a younger player."

All the while, Dahlin was in the process of becoming a bigger guy himself. Krueger said the then 19-year-old was adding on noticeable strength in-season, a process that only intensified during a seven-month layoff without hockey.
"I think that it's going to be even better in the D-zone," Dahlin said.
The Sabres are counting on Dahlin to continue his growth entering season No. 3 in the NHL. He upped his points-per-game average to .68 last season, up from .54 the year prior, thanks in part to more consistent time quarterbacking the top power-play unit. His 84 points through two seasons are second-most by a teenage defenseman in NHL history, behind Ray Bourque.
The next step, Dahlin said, is to become a player who can be used in all situations. Given how compact the 56-game schedule will be, Krueger emphasized the importance of that happening so as to lessen the ice-time burden on the group's other defensemen.
"I definitely see his minutes growing," Krueger said. "I also see his hunger to learn the game away from the puck and to take that responsibility defensively that they don't usually have as they grow up when they have so much skill, a younger player, his amazing skillset. In many ways, we need him to grow for us to be able to reach our goals."

It would be a natural progression for the No. 1 pick who has managed to turn heads both with his puck skills and his competitiveness since the day he first put on a Sabres uniform. Following the first practice of camp, newcomer Taylor Hall - a Hart Trophy winner - could not help but be impressed.
"I think he makes it look pretty effortless out there," Hall said. "Such a big guy that can skate that well and can move that well is pretty cool to watch. I made a comment to someone in line, it must be a requirement as a Swedish hockey player to be able to move so well out there and to open your hips up so well and be so agile.
"It's pretty cool to watch. I think he's a guy that once you see the power play and 5-on-5, 4-on-4, 3-on-3 situations, what he can do with the puck, he's basically a fourth forward out there. It's going to be really fun to see him take another step and hopefully cement himself in that upper echelon of defensemen in this league."

Sunday's practice

Forward Victor Olofsson did not practice after sustaining an upper-body injury during Saturday's on-ice session. He is considered day-to-day. Rasmus Asplund joined the morning's Gold Group as a result.
Captain Jack Eichel (upper body) did not skate with the team for the third-straight day. Goaltender Linus Ullmark (post-immigration quarantine) was also absent once again. The availabilty of Eichel, Olofsson and Ullmark for Monday's scrimmage will be decided in the morning.
Here's how the two groups lined up Sunday:
Gold Group
4 Taylor Hall - 25 Arttu Ruotsalainen - 72 Tage Thompson
53 Jeff Skinner - 12 Eric Staal - 23 Sam Reinhart
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 20 Cody Eakin - 21 Kyle Okposo
13 Tobias Rieder - 27 Curtis Lazar - 37 Casey Mittelstadt
74 Rasmus Asplund - 38 Riley Sheahan
19 Jake McCabe - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 62 Brandon Montour
33 Colin Miller - 10 Henri Jokiharju
44 Matt Irwin - 88 Brandon Davidson
40 Carter Hutton
34 Jonas Johansson
Blue Group
Forwards: Steven Fogarty, C.J. Smith, Andrew Oglevie, Brett Murray, Brandon Biro
Defensemen: Will Borgen, Casey Fitzgerald, Mattias Samuelsson, Jacob Bryson
Goalies: Michael Houser, Dustin Tokarski
The Sabres will host an intra-squad scrimmage on Monday at 1 p.m. that will be live streamed on Sabres.com and the team's official social media platforms.