BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sabres top selection Rasmus Dahlin took the ice for development camp to a 20-second round of applause.

Being the center of attention is not new to Dahlin, whose abilities have thrust him in front of packed stadiums for years, but that ovation from his new fan base put a smile on the 18-year-old's face.

"It was awesome. It was fun training with all the crowds and all that stuff. It was special and fun," he said.

And that was just the start of the show. Dahlin light up the net and the crowd several times Wednesday. Showing off all his skills from skating to stick handling, shooting and more ooohing and aaahing from the packed HarborCenter with every tickle of the twine from the young defenseman.

“There was hasn't been a crowd that cheered a goal for me in training, so that was special too. That was fun,” he added.

The crowd got what it wanted in flashes of brilliance and the Swedish superstar got what he was looking for, something far simpler.

"Today I finally got on the ice with all the guys. To get back to the real hockey. Right now I am just enjoying,” he said.

Even his new teammates were impressed.

"He is a special guy. He can do things out there that most forwards can’t do, so he is a special guy,” said Victor Oloffson, a fellow Swede. “I just feel the skill he has is so special, he is above almost everyone else in that skill and that will make his successful over here."

"That's exciting because he is a really good player and you can see the skill out there, yeah he is good,” said Dahlin’s roommate Brendan Guhle. “He is world class and that is why he went first overall. You can see it out there, it is awesome."