Rasmus Sandin

On-Ice Assessment

These early pre-season games come with a lot of caveats, especially the level of competition, but almost everyone watching these games has come to the same conclusion: Rasmus Sandin has looked remarkably good after a successful debut with the Marlies last season. The “Sandman” has shown an innate ability to slow the game down, control the puck, and make smart plays and crisp passes despite pressure. I have never seen him flustered or rushed in these games and when given the offensive opportunity he has even stick-handled in from the blue line while looking for a pass play, or executed a slap pass across the slot.

I think this clip thanks to @LeafsHub gives an idea of what I am talking about:

If you didn’t know #38 was Sandin, you would swear it was a veteran NHLer on that play. He caught three Sabres feeling slightly underdressed when that pass hit Nylander’s stick.

It’s just one play against AHL level competition but Rasmus has mentioned how he followed Niklas Lidstrom as a kid. Now Sandin is not in that stratosphere at all but I think if I squint my eyes a little, dream like a fan, and watch just the style and how smoothly that sequence happened, including the deke and quick pass on tape, it reminds me just a little of how Lidstrom played his game. You just didn’t want the puck to go in on Lidstrom’s side because he could do that to you without breaking a sweat.

I am not at all surprised by the positive reviews coming in. Full disclosure, I tweeted this after watching him play in his first AHL games a year ago and I am not one too prone to premature prospect hype.

And I wasn’t disappointed as he went on to record 28 points in 44 AHL games as an 18 year-old, his .64 points per game was one of the highest among the U23 group of AHL defensemen. (circled in chart below)

Babcock had this to say when asked if Sandin looked better in his second game:

“I don’t know. I think he is like that every night. To me, he is just smart and simple and knows how to play and just seems to be comfortable all the time. It doesn’t seem to matter what level he is at.”

From the analytics side, we don’t have much to rely on in the pre-season. As far as game stats go for the two games, Sandin averaged 19.5 minutes ice time and the 5v5 shot differential (Corsi) with him on the ice stood at 53%. He also recorded 4 shots and had one assist.

Based on watching the other bubble defencemen in camp so far and now seeing that Sandin — Marincin is set to start as the third pair in the main group with the Rielly and Barrie pairs on September 25th,