Detroit Red Wings scout: Rasmus Dahlin 'has no weaknesses'

Hakan Andersson chuckled when asked about the comparison between Detroit Red Wings legend Nicklas Lidstrom and Rasmus Dahlin, the young defenseman who headlines a strong 2018 NHL entry draft.

Dahlin is the consensus to go first overall, and which team will get to call his name in June will be determined Saturday when the NHL holds the draft lottery. The Wings have 8.5 percent odds of landing Dahlin, who’d accelerate their rebuild.

“He’s good at everything,” Andersson told the Free Press. “He has great size, he is a great skater, he has very good hands. He’s extremely smart, and he has very high dedication. There is a lot to like.”

Andersson, the Wings’ director of European scouting, served on the board of directors of the Frolunda hockey club in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 2013-17. During that time he saw Dahlin move from the organization’s junior hockey team to the highest division, the Swedish Hockey League.

“I’ve seen him lots over the years,” Andersson said. “I know how dedicated he is. I know how hard he works.

“He has no weaknesses.”

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Dahlin, 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds, has more size and flash than Lidstrom, who was known for his flawless positional play and durability. He retired from the Wings in 2012 with four Stanley Cup championships, seven Norris Trophies (NHL’s top defenseman) and one Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP). He was a first-ballot Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in 2015.

During a Wings game in March, Lidstrom said Dahlin is better than Lidstrom was when he was Dahlin’s age. Dahlin, who turned 18 on April 13, represented Sweden at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the youngest player to participate in the men’s hockey tournament. He finished the 2017-18 season with 20 points in 41 games for Frolunda HC.

What made Andersson grin is that it is hard to predict how much impact a teenager can have right away. He is considered a generational player, the third to bear that label in recent years. Forward Connor McDavid was the prize of the 2015 draft (selected by Edmonton) and Auston Matthews was the gem of the 2016 draft (selected by Toronto).

McDavid and Matthews are incredible talents (McDavid finished with a league-high 108 points this season). Yet neither of their teams immediately have enjoyed drastic playoff success. The Maple Leafs have been ousted in the first round of the playoffs two straight years (Matthews had two points in seven playoff games this spring). The Oilers have missed the playoffs twice since gaining McDavid, including this spring.

“Over the years, how many first overall picks have come in right away and transformed a team?” Andersson said. “Connor McDavid is a highly skilled player, and the Oilers still don’t make the playoffs.

“People want to compare Dahlin to Lidstrom. Lidstrom in his draft year played in the junior Swedish hockey league. This guy played in the top league in his draft year and on the national team. That doesn’t mean it’s going to translate into a better career. He is not the first player at 17-18 years of age to be better than Lidstrom. Lidstrom, the year after he was drafted, he played in Sweden still and his numbers were not that exciting. Now, very few guys look back and say they had a better career than Lidstrom.

“It takes time. Dahlin is very good at a young age, for sure. He has taken some big steps the past few years. I think whoever drafts him, you hope you are drafting a world-class defenseman."

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.