Owen Power, drafted first overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, was brought in by the Sabres to be Rasmus Dahlin’s right-hand man. Power, a great puck-moving defenseman who has a big frame at 6-foot-6 and 226 pounds, has had his struggles in the defensive end — particularly with using his body to his advantage — but he has shown improvement over the last season.
Power is entering his fourth full season in the NHL, looking to make a more significant positive impact on his name. In 2024-25, he posted a career high in goals (seven), assists (33), and points (40) in 79 games played before he suffered a season-ending knee injury with three games remaining in the season. This season, Power will have a full breakout season and make a name for himself as a top-30 defenseman in the league.
Owen Power’s Two-Way Game Will Emerge
Power has already shown flashes of a great two-way game, from his ability in the offensive zone to being able to read the opponent’s play in his zone to help break up rushes and plays in transition. He has not had a stable partner over his short NHL career so far. However, the Sabres think they have finally found Power’s long-term partner in Michael Kesselring, whom they acquired from the Utah Mammoth in a trade that saw the Sabres send off J.J. Peterka.
Last season, Power was paired with Mattias Samuelsson the most, with 332 minutes played together. They weren’t as great together with an expected goals percentage of 40.2%. However, Power as an individual had some of the better analytics on the Sabres’ blue line. According to Evolving Hockey, he was in the 83rd percentile in overall play, 74th in offense, and 78th in defense. In the 2023-24 season his defense was in the 34th percentile, meaning he more than doubled it in one season as we saw a huge progression in his two-way game. His offense remained consistent, ranking in the 74th percentile in 2023-24 as well, an excellent sign for the young defenseman.
Related: 5 Bold Sabres Predictions for 2025-26
As for some other analytics, according to MoneyPuck, his Corsi percentage was at 52%, second of all Sabres defensemen, only trailing Dahlin (57%), and his on-ice expected goals for percentage per 60 minutes was at 3.06, second among Sabres defensemen, once again behind only Dahlin (3.89). I won’t go through every single analytic, but those are the two most important ones that indicate how good he was last season. Expect these numbers to go up this season — he’s only going to get better.
Predictions for Power in 2025-26 Season
Power has gotten better in each of the past three seasons. He was on a linear development curve his first couple of seasons, then last season, his play took a big jump. I expect his development curve to become steeper and follow an exponential path, especially with the expectation for him to take another step forward this season, as he’ll be expected to take on an even larger role. After recording his first 40-point season in his career, he’ll look to break a career high once again. My predictions go as follows:
- Goals: 10
- Assists: 45
- Points: 55
- Plus/Minus: Plus-13
- TOI: 22:17
His usage is going to go up as Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is going to have to lean on him more to get the job done night in and night out. The numbers may be too high to some, but his ceiling as of right now is a 50-plus point player, and I believe he will reach that threshold. Playing alongside Kesselring will unlock another level in Power’s game, and I think he has whatever it takes in him to become a star this season.
Power has untapped potential. At just 22, he still has so much room to grow and develop. It can take longer for a defenseman to become a star in the league. Players like Victor Hedman, Evan Bouchard, and his teammate Dahlin are just a few examples of defenseman who it took a few seasons to become consistent number-one guys.
