The hockey gods granted the Buffalo Sabres luck as they were awarded the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. With that pick, they selected Mississauga, Ontario native Owen Power.
So far, Power has shown he is capable of playing at the NHL level and will be a workhorse on that blueline for years to come. Right now, the Sabres have Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Casey Fitzgerald, Henri Jokiharju, and Jacob Bryson on defense.
Before playing his first NHL game, Power has accomplished so much that shouldn’t go unnoticed. He played for Team Canada at the Men’s World Hockey Championships, where he was instrumental in helping the team win the Gold Medal. We saw his ice-time increase throughout the tournament as he flourished into a top-pairing defenceman.
In addition, he also played at the World Juniors tallying 5 points in 2 games playing mostly on the right side rather than his natural left side. He was also used as a top-pairing defenceman during the tournament. It looks doubtful that he will play during this summer’s World Juniors, given it is so close to NHL training camps.
This season, the University of Michigan was loaded with talent, and Power was named to the NCAA (ACHA West) All-American Second Team and NCAA (B1G) First All-Star team after totaling 32 points in 33 games. Clearly, he was one of many MVPs for Michigan this season which comes as no surprise given he is a product of the Chicago Steel.
He also played for Team Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games totaling 1 point in 5 games, but the experience is going to go a long way for a kid who is only 19 years old! He isn’t even allowed to drink in the United States yet, and look at all he has accomplished.
In the future, we could see the Buffalo Sabres run a powerplay of Dahlin-Power with the Skinner-Thompson-Tuch line, or the Sabres could split up Dahlin and Power. Another idea is for the Sabres to use Power as a net-front presence given his 6’6″ frame, something akin to what the Boston Bruins did with Zdeno Chara.
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