Rasmus Dahlin was walking to the Buffalo Sabres’ dressing room in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena following a January practice when the ambush occurred.
Rasmus Asplund and Victor Olofsson, fellow Swedes wanting to congratulate Dahlin on his selection to the NHL All-Star Game, were hiding on each side of the doorway before playfully tackling the Sabres’ top defenseman.
As Dahlin got back to his feet, Asplund and Olofsson hurried to the dressing room to celebrate the successful prank. The duo, like the rest of the young Sabres, occasionally bring levity to the grind of the 82-game season, but their shared determination to make an impact on the ice has made them an important part of the plan to build a winner in Buffalo.
“They kind of exemplify our group and our team,” said coach Don Granato. “You see the care. They care for each other. They look out for each other; they pick each other up when things might not go right. It’s almost symbolic of our whole group now.”
Asplund, 24, rates as one of the top defensive forwards in the NHL this season, while Olofsson, 26, recently has provided consistent offense at right wing after a lingering wrist injury impacted his prolific left-handed shot for months.
They’ve become a development success story for the Sabres. Drafted out of Sweden in the second and seventh rounds, respectively, Asplund and Olofsson gradually improved their games to earn full-time roster spots in Buffalo.
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When Asplund and Olofsson were linemates and roommates in Rochester, they routinely had to be summoned off the ice in Blue Cross Arena because they insisted on honing their skills long after practice ended. Every step along the way, through the culture shock of relocating to a new continent to the inevitable impatience during their road to the NHL, they had one another for support.
“It’s huge to have each other,” said Asplund, a left wing for Buffalo. “We’ve always pushed each other. Both of us wanted to be better and we had the same goal to be here on a daily basis. And now we’re here. Both of us. We had that same goal in mind, and we pushed each other to make it happen.”
Olofsson was drafted in the seventh round in 2014 and Asplund didn’t join the organization until two years later when he was chosen by the Sabres in the second round. They crossed paths when competing in the Swedish Hockey League, but they didn’t meet until they became teammates in international competition.
When the call to North America came in 2018, Asplund and Olofsson arrived in Buffalo at the same time to prepare for their first season of pro hockey in the United States. They joined forces with Danny O’Regan in Rochester to form one of the top lines in the American Hockey League that season.
The transition wasn’t always easy, though. Both needed to learn the nuances of playing defense on the smaller ice surface in North America. There also was the adjustment off the ice, as they had to learn life in the United States. As roommates in Rochester, Asplund and Olofsson shopped for groceries together and supported each other through any inconvenience that occurred away from the rink.
“The NHL was our only goal,” said Olofsson. “We liked our time in Rochester. It was fun and we had a great team. We played some very good hockey, but none of us obviously wanted to stay there. Nobody wants to be in the American League. It’s the NHL you want to get to. From day one, we helped each other work really hard in the American League and eventually we got here.”
Olofsson’s call-up to Buffalo came sooner than Asplund’s. The Sabres recalled Olofsson from Rochester in March 2019 and he quickly proved that he was ready for the best league in the world. He finished the 2018-19 season with 30 goals for the Amerks. Asplund didn’t make his NHL debut until the following season, but he showed that his skating and skill were up to the challenge.
Asplund made his NHL debut on Nov. 16, 2019 and appeared in 29 games during a 2019-20 season in which Olofsson had a breakout 20-goal performance for the Sabres. Yet, when the club gathered for training camp ahead of the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, former coach Ralph Krueger didn’t even have Asplund with the NHL group at the start of training camp.
Despite Asplund’s continued development, he began the season on the taxi squad and sat for 24 of the Sabres’ first 31 games. When frustration mounted, Olofsson was there to help his friend through the ordeal. And when Granato took over as coach last March and Asplund recovered from an injury, he appeared in the club’s final 20 games of the season. His performance in the final weeks earned him a two-year contract with Buffalo.
“I think I realized pretty quickly in Rochester that it's gonna take time,” Asplund recalled. “I need to progress; I need to get better. And now when I look back at it, my first year I wasn't ready to play in the NHL. Chris Taylor helped me a lot. I can't thank him enough for what he did for me in Rochester. And I think he really got me to understand that this is gonna take time. It's a process, but when you're ready, you're gonna get your chance.”
There have been more difficult moments this season, their first together as full-time NHLers. Olofsson went 30 games without a goal after suffering a wrist injury in November. Asplund had a 46-game goal drought end in Madison Square Garden on March 27.
Olofsson was a key player for the Sabres when they went 8-3-3 in March. He has eight goals and 11 points in his last 16 games. His one-timer power-play goal Friday against Nashville stood as the game-winner and showed why his shot release has been considered one of the best in the NHL.
Asplund wants to produce more offensively – he has six goals and 23 points in 68 games – but he has consistently generated chances for the Sabres. He also has become a shutdown defensive forward, as Evolving-Hockey has his defensive impact ranked as fourth best among all NHL forwards. Asplund trails only Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Auston Matthews.
The undeniable on-ice chemistry between Asplund and Olofsson has them on a line again in the NHL, providing the Sabres with a reliable tandem to skate alongside one of the club’s young centers.
“You can see when you put those two together, there’s a surge right away,” said Granato. “And even when they’re separate, they’re fine, but when you put them together you see the surge and you see they’ve had a lot of time and meaningful games together and been through ups and downs together.”
