Owen Power will make his NHL debut for the Buffalo Sabres tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2021 first overall pick brings an intriguing skill set as a defenseman to go along with his size.

The 19-year-old is not your conventional top pick in the sense that he’s not going to be a human highlight reel. Instead, he’s the type of player that will make plays at both ends of the ice to help his team win games.

Collegiate Season

Power’s D+1 season saw play for three different teams in three different countries. He spent most of his season with the University of Michigan where he scored three goals and 32 points in 33 games. He was a point per game player in his Sophomore season, but the production numbers don’t jump off the page.

However, his microstats and underlying numbers were some of the best on his team and in all of college hockey. In the player tracking I did on the Wolverines’ blue line until Power left for the Olympics; his impact in regards to creating offense was the best of any defender on that team.

You’ll see above how his primary shot contributions at 5 on 5 were by far the best. Primary shot contributions measure shot attempts, primary shot assists, and secondary shot assists. A shot assist is a pass that directly leads to a shot. This data gives us an idea of how impactful a player is in creating offense outside of raw production.

Outside of his time at Michigan, he played for the Canadian U20 club in the World Junior before it was canceled due to Covid-19. In two games, Power registered a hat trick in one and five total points overall.

The third team he was a part of was the Canadian national team for the Olympics. Power only registered one assist in five games in Beijing, but he played top pair minutes for the Canadians.

He’s a fun player to watch work in the offensive zone. He’s always looking for open ice and has great vision with the puck on his stick. There will be times you’ll see him below the net and then the puck will break out moments later by the opponent and he’ll somehow be back to defend the rush.

His transition game is also what makes him a special player. Power looks for the opportunity to jump into the rush constantly and can read plays well so that he’s not caught in a counter-attack.

Defense

One of the improvements this season has been his game in the defensive zone. As a freshman, he had some trouble with forecheckers and defending rush attempts against. That wasn’t much of an issue this year. He started to defend the blue line tighter and attack the puck carrier. You’ll see an example of this in the clip below.

He’s one of the bigger players on the ice, but he’s not a player that will throw big hits. Instead, he uses his mix of speed and size to close off plays to regain possession. Power will use his size to squeeze out a player on the wall. His reach is what he relies on while defending. There will be times that he looks beat, but his good footwork allows him to get into position to use his stick to knock the puck away from the opponent.

Power is going to be a fun player for fans to watch. There isn’t a lot of flash in his game, but you’ll quickly see how well he reads plays. His puck distribution will be impressive and you’ll enjoy watching him work in transition.

Photo Credit: University of Michigan