Rasmus Dahlin is 21 years old but in the world of the NHL, he's just about a veteran now. He's played 197 NHL games in three seasons and has the first big-money deal of his career in his pocket.

He also has Don Granato back as his coach full-time, and the hope is that will be a boon for his career.

Dahlin has always placed huge expectations on himself but seemed free of burdens when he took the ice for his first practice of Sabres training camp Friday in LECOM Harborcenter. The hype of being the No. 1 overall pick is over. That was more than three years ago. This season is about Dahlin moving forward to become one of the leaders in the Buffalo dressing room.

"First three years I was kind of here to see and learn but now that's done," Dahlin acknowledged. "I need to take more responsibility in the locker room and on the ice, too. I want to be more of a leader. I want to be a guy that you can trust in every single second I'm at the rink. I'm not a young talent anymore. I've got to step up and show what I can do."

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Dahlin missed the opening day of camp while clearing protocols after signing his three-year, $18 million contract. He was thrilled the team and his representatives came to an agreement after several weeks of discussions centering around both the shorter bridge deal and a long-term contract.

"I'm super happy that I got the deal done and to be able to be with the boys," Dahlin said. "I was open to everything. We had long conversations about all those options but we ended up having this deal. I'm very happy with it and I'm looking forward to three next years for sure. We have something good going on here."

Dahlin's wondrous hands and skating were immediately on display Friday the second he hit the ice. He was dipsy-doodling around the net, curling the puck on his stick with his circle. During one 3-on-1 drill, he took a Dylan Cozens feed and burned minor-league goalie Mat Robson with a quick wrist shot from the slot.

Dahlin was dominant defensively on 1-on-1 drills as well. At least on this day, nobody was getting by him. 

"There's a lot of baggage, an extra challenge that comes with being a phenom," said Granato. "And a lot of times it pulls you out of the moment, pulls you out of being yourself. You feel like you have to live up to something and we've tried to distance him from trying to live up to something. Let's just find out what you are."

Dahlin had nine goals and 44 points in his rookie year but was a broken player much of last year, with just 23 points in 56 games and an NHL-worst minus-36 rating. But in the final 20 games under Granato, Dahlin had 11 points, led the team in 5-on-5 ice time and averaged more than 23 minutes overall. And he stopped fretting over his mistakes.

"Those players can be their own worst enemy. And as a reflex they are," Granato said of top draft picks. "They throw the weight of the world on themselves. And that's not healthy all the time. So it's finding that balance."

"I think the biggest thing for Ras is to go out there and be Ras," said center Casey Mittelstadt, Dahlin's longtime roommate. "There's not many guys I've ever seen do some of the things he can do with the puck, the way he moves and the way he skates. So I don't think anyone's too worried about Ras. He's always ready to go and he's ready to play. I think we all expect big things from him this year and he expects big things for himself."

Granato said the organization wants to free Dahlin of the burden of the spotlight that's been on him.

"The more we can get him in the now and into his next opportunity, the better," the coach said. "And that was really a big part of what we were trying to focus on. That's the only intangible what we were trying to focus on: Let's try to get in the moment and think about what you can do right now, rather than the concern of a lot of players in this league that feel they have to live up to expectations."

Dahlin said he appreciates that approach.

"Usually 99% of the times you know that you did a bad thing so you don't always have to hear it," Dahlin said. "I like it because I'm a guy that likes to try stuff. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but Donnie lets me play and let me do all those things I get more confident."

Dahlin says it's strange to no longer have the departed Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe on the roster but that he's prepared to be the biggest minutes eater of the defense corps.

"I have done a little bit more conditioning this summer to be able to play more minutes," he said. "If everything goes well, I'm aware that I can be that guy. I'm ready for it."

Krueger's style was square peg/round hole when it came to Dahlin. Mistakes became a focal point and offensive creativity was stifled to prevent them. There was limited attacking and too much of a playing-not-to-lose approach. No more.

"This year I get started on the right page. I can start my own game and build on that the whole year," Dahlin said. "I think that's going to be a good thing. The structure we're working on here, it fits everyone in the locker room. Every single guy is a skill guy and we like having the puck and creating stuff. So I think it fits everybody."

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