‘The center had no goals and one assist in his first 16 games with the Amerks. When the Sabres moved up to get Asplund in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft, they talked about what a smart player he was. That came through as Asplund found his game and had 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points in 75 games. Asplund said there were many factors that helped him get better, “I think I really learned how to play my game at a really high pace. I think that was the one thing I was struggling with a little bit, but the longer the year went, I think I got more and more used to it and got comfortable doing things at a high speed.”’