‘To the Sabres credit, though, those are the kind of mistakes they are willing to live with from a 19-year-old phenom defenseman. When the Sabres purged their coaching staff after last season, they decided to keep Steve Smith on as an assistant coach under Ralph Krueger. Smith runs the defense and Dahlin was happy he was kept on. “You can make a mistake and coaches say, ‘Get in there and do the same thing. It’ll work out next time,’ ” Dahlin said. “Our coach ‘Smitty’ is an unreal coach. He really trusts the players. I’m super happy that he stayed. He’s so calm and he knows what he’s talking about. He’s won a few Stanley Cups. I respect that man a lot. Everyone does in the locker room.”’