More than lake-effect snow or even chicken wings with hot sauce, Buffalo is perhaps most synonymous with its pro sports team's tortured pasts. You know, Scott Norwood (wide right) and Brett Hull (skate in the crease).
That, however, could be changing.
After years of incompetence, ineptitude and just some thoroughly dreadful hockey, Sabres second-year general manager Jason Botterill -- Jim Rutherford's former top lieutenant -- has a chance to alleviate the pain of long-suffering Buffalonians this weekend at the NHL Draft.
It all began April 28, three weeks after the Sabres' miserable, 62-point campaign ended. That's when Botterill scored Buffalo's biggest win of the season and, arguably, its biggest win in a decade.
After also having the best odds to win the NHL Draft lottery in 2014 and '15, only to lose out on Aaron Ekblad and, most unfortunately, Conor McDavid, the little white ball finally bounced in Buffalo's favor .
April 28 was the night that the Sabres earned the right to draft Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick Friday night in Dallas.
If you haven't heard of him, you soon will. Trust me. Here's a refresher course:
The Swedish defenseman is a fitting reward for one of the NHL's best and most loyal fan bases, and one of it worst teams. The Sabres haven't qualified for postseason play since 2011, going 197-273-79 since. Their 464 points over that span are 35 fewer than anyone else.
Dahlin would become the third Sabre selected first overall after Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault in 1970 and four-time All-Star Pierre Turgeon in 1987. The 18-year-old can become the second Swede taken No. 1 since the Quebec Nordiques selected Mats Sundin in 1989. He'd also become the 13th defenseman taken with the top pick since 1966 and just the third since the turn of the new century after Erik Johnson (St. Louis in 2006) and Ekblad (Florida in 2014).
A strong two-way player, Dahlin has drawn comparisons from everyone from Nicklas Lidstrom to Erik Karlsson to Viktor Hedman, all fellow Swedes. That might be a bit hyperbolic but Dahlin is universally viewed as the best player available in the Class of 2018.
"He's a franchise player, all around defenseman," Rutherford told DKPittsburghSports.com. "Has all the things it takes to be a top defenseman, offensively and defensively. Skates, a franchise player. Kind of player that changes a franchise. He'll be a difference maker in Buffalo."
Though defensemen usually take longer to develop than forwards, Dahlin is expected to contribute from the start in the NHL. At 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds, Dahlin still needs to fill out a little and get stronger but that will come with time. Other than that, there are no glaring weaknesses in his game.
Dahlin's resume includes two seasons of pro hockey for Frolunda, registering 20 points in 41 games this season. In January, he led Sweden to the silver medal at the World Junior tournament -- held in Buffalo -- and was named best defenseman. As a 17-year-old, seven years younger than any of his teammates, he represented Tre Konor at the PyeongChang Games in February, recording one assist in two games.
"Obviously, he's been a special player over here," Patrik Allvin, the Penguins' director of amateur scouting and a fellow Swede, told DKPittsburghSports.com. "As young as he is, with the experience of playing pro hockey and accomplish what he’s accomplished, as well as at the World Junior and the Olympics, he was probably one of the youngest players ever to play in the Olympics, he's an experienced player at a young age. You hope there's more to come, learning how to be able to take the next step and being able to establish himself at the NHL level. He's a good kid, a good athlete and he looks to have a bright future in the NHL ahead of him."
Dahlin will go to a team that has clearly struggled but one that could rebound quickly with some defensive help. If 2017-18 showed anything, it's that any team -- even an expansion entry -- can reach the Cup Final quickly. He'll join a core of young players that includes fellow lottery picks Rasmus Ristolainen (No. 8 in 2013), Sam Reinhart (No. 2 in 2014), Jack Eichel (No. 2 in 2015), Alex Nylander (No. 8 in 2016) and Casey Mittlestadt (No. 8 in 2017).
But with the title of being "first overall" comes great expectations. Some have risen to the occasion while others have faltered. Scouts seem to agree that Dahlin has the mental makeup -- in addition to the skill -- to be a good one for a long time. Dahlin doesn't seem to be the least bit fazed by all the fanfare.
Pressure?
"Not so much, actually," Dahlin said earlier this month at the scouting combine at Buffalo's HarborCenter, just across the street from his next home, the KeyBank Center. "Just try not to think about that. Just to focus on what I do everyday. Just eat, sleep. I have so many other things to think about."
Thinks like chicken wings, apparently. Like a true Buffalonian, the Swedish teenage even made a pilgrimage to an area hot spot.
"It was good, but I probably took the little too spicy," Dahlin said. "I've got to go with the mild next time."
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After Dahlin, the consensus is that picks Nos. 2-4 -- held by the Hurricanes, Canadiens and, most likely, the Senators -- will be Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina.
If the Sabres were the biggest winner in the Draft Lottery, the Hurricanes were a close second. Carolina jumped from No. 11 to No. 2 where they are expected to take Svechnikov, a Russian right wing who scored 40 goals last season for Barrie in the OHL. Svechnikov is the most polished forward available and is the top-ranked North American skater according to Central Scouting. He plays a solid, two-way game and projects as a power forward who can contribute immediately.
Tkachuk is rough around the edges in every sense and that's what scouts love about him. He is the son of former U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk and plays with even more grit than his tenacious older brother Matthew, who finished his second NHL season with the Flames. Brady Tkachuk, a 6-3, 196-pound center will likely need another year of seasoning before making the jump to the NHL. He scored eight goals in 40 games last year at Boston University but improved his stock by recording nine points in seven games at the World Junior.
After Svechnikov, Zadina is the other winger expected to go early. The Czech is a natural goal scorer who tallied 44 markers last season in 55 games for Halifax in the offensive-happy QMJHL. He works well in tight spaces and was able to make a fairly seamless transition last year to the smaller North American ice surfaces.
Ottawa holds the fourth overall pick but can give that pick to Colorado as a condition of the Matt Duchene trade. However, it would then forfeit its first-round selection in 2019 and that would seem highly doubtful to happen. The Senators, who also have pick No. 22 from the Penguins as part of the Derick Brassard trade, are expected to be among the worst teams next season and in contention for Jack Hughes.
Hughes, a forward for the U.S. National Team Development Program, is the early favorite to be the first overall pick next year. He's also the younger brother of Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes, who is one of six defensemen that could go in the top 10 this weekend along with Dahlin, Swedish junior Adam Boqvist, Evan Bouchard of London (OHL), Noah Dobson of Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) and Ty Smith from Spokane (WHL).