BUFFALO, N.Y. — This is a battle between Nick Suzuki and Rasmus Dahlin, two young captains who assumed their massive responsibilities under the adverse conditions rebuilds present, and two wise-beyond-their-years players who managed to quickly shepherd their respective teams to greener pastures, all while realizing the enormous personal potential they each held as former first-round picks.
One is a 101-point-producing favourite for this year’s Selke Trophy — Suzuki was officially named a finalist for the award Wednesday — and if the other doesn’t win this year’s Norris Trophy after being named a finalist Thursday, it’s just a matter of time before he adds it to his mantle. Both are among the most respectable figures in the sport.
The respect Suzuki and Dahlin have for each other was also made obvious over the last 24 hours.
Prior to Game 1 of Round 2, over which Suzuki spent one-third of his ice-time against Dahlin, the Montreal Canadiens’ captain talked about what makes the first-overall pick in the 2018 Draft so special.
“His skating, his puck-moving ability,” Suzuki said of Dahlin. “He’s really good at drawing you in, making a play, and getting by you. He wants to be in the rush, wants the puck. We’ve gotta almost kind of play maybe a bit more passive on him going out to the blue lines. He’s kind of similar to Lane (Hutson); he likes to make guys miss, so definitely gotta be aware of him walking the blue line.”
Dahlin said you have to be aware of Suzuki — who was drafted 13th overall in 2017 — everywhere on the ice.
“I think he’s got the complete package,” the Lidkoping, Sweden, native said of his London, Ont., counterpart. “He can score, he’s a hell of a disher, and he can play defence. He’s just a legit first-line centre in this league, so he really deserves that (Selke) nomination for sure.”
Dahlin earned his Norris nomination not only by posting career-bests in points (74) and plus-minus (plus-18) all while facing players of Suzuki’s ilk night-in, night-out, but also by bringing the grit and snarl few blue liners with his offensive ability possess. The six-foot-three, 204-pound player plays his size — and his weight — and that’s as impactful as anything else he does on the ice.
“When you need to show fire for your teammates, and your desire,” said Lindy Ruff, “that’s the part you really like to see.”
Dahlin’s impact off the ice has been just as pleasing to the coach’s eye.
“I feel the best captains are the captains that are a captain for everybody, not just the guys who are struggling or the guys that are your friend or your countryman. It’s a captain for everybody,” said Ruff. “I just feel he is a guy that is a guy for everybody. He’s not just a captain for his fellow defencemen. He’s there for everyone, and I think that’s the most important thing. I feel first and foremost you lead by example, then you can be vocal. But part of that is to be there for everyone.”
All that fits a description of Suzuki, who took over as captain of the Canadiens in 2022 (two years before Dahlin was named captain of the Sabres).
And while Ruff said he doesn’t know all that much about Suzuki as a player, he did speak to what he’s accomplished.
“I think when you get nominated for what he’s been nominated for, that speaks volumes,” Ruff said. “I think I would put him in that category with like a Nico Hischier, who I coached as a captain. A great two-way player, a player that’s going to average over a point a game, a guy that you can rely on in every situation, and a guy who’s a great faceoff guy. For me, that’s painting the picture of a coach’s dream.”
That’s how Martin St. Louis feels every time he looks down his bench and has the opportunity to throw No. 14 over the boards.
“I mean, he drives the bus,” St. Louis said. “It’s not just one thing. He can defend well. Offensively, obviously, you know what he does. He’s a huge part of our success, and I think the guys follow his lead a lot. He’s a big-time player for us.”
Suzuki has been one ever since he played his first game with the Canadiens, one year after he was traded from the Vegas Golden Knights in the fall of 2018.
That’s when Dahlin debuted with the Sabres and began his long journey towards becoming one of the best defencemen in the world.
He traversed many obstacles along the way and came through the greatest adversity of his career this past season, with fiancée Carolina undergoing a heart transplant in the summer and suffering complications from it that forced Dahlin to step away from the Sabres in November.
In January, the Dahlins revealed they lost a baby during Carolina’s health crisis, making everything off the ice that much more challenging.
But Dahlin said he found sanctuary at the arena to produce the best hockey of his career.
“It’s kind of funny how it works,” Dahlin said. “You grow, you get older, and kind of understand things outside hockey is more important than actual hockey, and that made me more relaxed coming to the rink and doing the work in peace, if that makes sense, knowing hockey’s just a game. I had to understand that to take it to the next level.”
Suzuki balanced out his life, too, marrying wife Caitlin last summer and welcoming first child Maya on the eve of the playoffs — after his game soared to new heights.
He’s produced two goals and seven points in eight games of these playoffs and is doing everything he can to win his matchup with Dahlin.
They have both emerged as great leaders — and as two of the best players in their respective categories — and their battle with each other is the feature of a war between the Canadiens and Sabres for a berth in the Eastern Conference Final.