Phil Housley isn't a hockey scout but he plays one online.
Despite being just six weeks into his offseason, the Buffalo Sabres head coach is already looking forward to the year ahead. Of course, it helps after his team was rewarded with the top pick in this summer's entry draft and the right to select Swedish standout defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
"It came down to the last two teams there and when they flipped over the Buffalo Sabres logo, I was jumping up and down and we were high-fiving in our family room," Housley told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. "I thought, 'This is finally a great breakthrough for this organization.' What a cornerstone for us to get Rasmus Dahlin. It really gives us hope."
While not yet a done deal, Dahlin will have the chance to finally pull on a Sabres sweater when the NHL heads to Dallas on June 22 for the 2018 draft.
The budding blue-liner, who has been likened to fellow countrymen Nicklas Lidstrom and Victor Hedman, is expected to make the immediate jump to the NHL after spending his formative years in Sweden.
Given he plays across the pond, there's been little opportunity for Housley to watch Dahlin with regularity. Enter the Internet.
"I know these are highlights and he's a young man and has to mature and really get to the NHL and North American game, but just seeing his poise and his hockey IQ of processing the game at a high speed is really, really something," Housley added. "I've been watching on YouTube and, boy, it's incredible. He's going to be a complete package in today's NHL."
Of course, Housley would recognize a top defenseman when he sees one. The Minnesota native skated in nearly 1,500 career games and accumulated 1,232 points, ranking fourth all time and first among American-born blue-liners.
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