Sabres team captain graded just below a trio of Norris Trophy winners
The Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, won the Atlantic Division, and came within a goal of advancing to the Eastern Conference Final, and their team captain was graded near the top of the individual rankings by EA Sports in their NHL 27 released on Wednesday.
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who finished with a career-high 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) and finished third in Norris Trophy voting behind winner Zach Werenski and runner up Cale Makar, received was ranked #17th and fourth among blueliners, behind Werenski, Makar and Quinn Hughes, who received an overall grade of 95.
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Dahlin and Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen were tied with an overall grade of 93.
Other Sabres defenseman listed were:
Owen Power, who fell from a career-high 40 points to 29 (8 goals, 21 assists) last season, but played excellent in spite of battling through injury in the playoffs, scored a career-high 52 points, was ranked #160 (47th among blueliners) with an overall grade of 86.
Mattias Samuelsson, who nearly doubled his career total in goals in one season with 13 last season, was ranked #183 (61st among defenseman) with an overall grade of 86.
Former Sabre Bowen Byram, who was second to Dahlin in defensive scoring with 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists), was ranked #123 (36th among blueliners with an overall grade of 87.
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