ANN ARBOR, Mich. – As the student section at Yost Ice Arena belted its signature chants in support of Owen Power and his teammates, Don Granato and the rest of the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff sat on metal bleachers overlooking center ice, marveling at the 6-foot-5, 214-pound defenseman making even the most difficult plays appear effortless.
“Exciting on so many levels because you get to put him and (Rasmus) Dahlin and (Henri) Jokiharju in the same practice,” Granato said during the first intermission. “With obviously (Tage) Thompson, (Casey) Mittelstadt, (Dylan) Cozens, (Peyton) Krebs and, not so far off, (Jack) Quinn and (JJ) Peterka. You get a visual of how these guys are going to be excited to play on the same team with each other, to be on the same practice sheet together.”
Shortly after finishing practice in Detroit on Jan. 14, the Sabres’ coaching staff, General Manager Kevyn Adams and others team employees boarded a bus for the 40-mile trip to the University of Michigan, where Power, their first overall draft choice in 2021, is amid his sophomore season. The then-No. 4-ranked Wolverines were hosting Penn State and the Sabres’ contingent was treated to Power’s latest impressive performance.
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Power, a 19-year-old with a left-handed shot, towered over most of his opponents, yet his skating stride looked elite on the same sheet of ice as three teammates who also were drafted in the top five in July. Despite playing his off side, Power took away time and space in the defensive zone, showed an uncanny ability to dictate the pace of the game and always seemed to make the right decision with and without the puck.
Watching the next member of the Sabres’ core had Granato and his coaches dreaming about what’s to come. Adams, meanwhile, jotted down all the exceptional plays made by the fourth No. 1 pick in franchise history. When the Wolverines skated off the ice with a 3-2 win, Adams’ notes on Power were essentially a checklist of everything a coach or manager could want in a cornerstone defenseman.
“We’re really looking forward to what he’s going to do for our organization, and we have others,” Adams beamed, referring to the several talented young players in the Sabres’ pipeline. “I get excited about them growing together and growing up together, honestly, and they’re good kids, too. I’ve been talking all along about them wanting to be here and wanting to build something special. … You can see they care about each other, and he’ll fit right into that group.”
Ann Arbor has become a regular stop for Adams, associate general manager Jason Karmanos and director of player development Adam Mair’s staff. In addition to Power, the Sabres hold the rights to Wolverines starting goalie Erik Portillo, whom the club drafted in the third round in 2019. Portillo, 21, helped Michigan to a weekend sweep of Penn State and owns an impressive .924 save percentage in 27 games as a sophomore.
But not since 2006 had a player drafted first overall by an NHL team chosen to wait to sign an entry-level contract. With full support from the Sabres, Power rejoined the Wolverines’ ultra-talented lineup in pursuit of an NCAA championship. He wanted to play in front of the Children of Yost student section, experience the IIHF World Junior Championship and immerse himself in the full college experience after an unusual freshman year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
There were no fans at Yost Ice Arena last season or the pageantry surrounding a Michigan game day. Now, Power and his teammates are playing to the soundtrack of a chanting crowd, an atmosphere unlike any other in college hockey. The school is even selling long-sleeved, school-branded merchandise with Power's name and No. 22 on the back for $45. Wolverines hockey is the hot ticket on campus.
On the ice, Power wanted to better prepare himself for the immense responsibility that’s ahead. He improved an already remarkable skating stride, gained strength to outmuscle opponents for the puck and is using the additional experience to learn how to navigate the various situations he’ll encounter in the NHL.
Power has three goals and 26 points in 24 games this season. Entering the weekend, his 23 assists were tied for second in the nation. He has a plus-21 rating and, despite his size, has only spent eight minutes in the penalty box. Power’s growth on the ice was apparent throughout the game against Penn State, at even strength, on the penalty kill and while quarterbacking Michigan’s power play that operates with video-game-like precision.
“He’s always looking to activate,” Adams said while standing behind the bleachers at Yost. “From the D zone on the transition, he makes the play and boom, he’s up ice, he’s going. You saw that before, but even more now, it’s like he has that confidence and the strength of jumping. His poise with the puck, the way he controls the game and scans the ice. He sees all his options and the poise he shows time and again has improved with experience. It’s exciting, though. I’m really looking forward to the day that he puts the Buffalo Sabres jersey on.”
Where most young, offensively gifted defensemen struggle, Power shows maturity. He didn't chase the puck on the penalty kill as Michigan tried to protect Portillo’s net during a five-minute Penn State power play. When a back door pass made its way to a Nittany Lions forward for what seemed like a guaranteed goal, Power was there with his stick to prevent his opponent from touching the puck.
During a battle for a loose puck behind the goal line, Power pinned his opponent against the glass and kept his stick free to make a perfect 8-foot pass to quickly start the breakout.
“Those are the details you don’t see at that age,” Adams added.
And like the best modern-day defensemen, Power knows how to contribute offensively. He routinely sent Penn State into a scramble by skating deep into the offensive zone, making himself another forward for the Nittany Lions to defend. But Power was never caught out of position. He knew precisely when to join the play and always darted back to stifle a Penn State rush at the change of possession. On the breakout, Power can survey the entire ice and find a teammate with a precise pass.
Power doesn't show signs of panic. He can sense pressure but doesn’t get overwhelmed by a forward closing in. And rarely does he force a shot when there’s not an open lane toward the net. When an offensive-zone faceoff win on the power play went to Power, he quickly scanned the ice and snapped a shot toward the net to get the puck to Michael Pastujov, who set up Matty Beniers for the game’s first goal.
“He moves with the flow of the play extremely well,” Granato said. “He’s in a rhythm with it, when he’s up on the offensive attack. As that attack looks to be denied, he’s already in motion recovering because he sees that and senses the transition is going to come back the other way. He never breaks a stride, never overcommits on the offensive side until he sees a reason to commit."
Adams and his staff have made many trips to see Power play, both in Ann Arbor, at world juniors and when the Wolverines were on the road. The visits are a means to better evaluate their top prospect at the amateur level – only so much can be gleaned from video – and to ensure he knows they are a resource to help his game reach new heights.
The timing of this trip allowed the Sabres’ coaching staff to see Power before he joined Team Canada for the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Hockey Canada announced this week that Power and fellow Sabres prospect Devon Levi are part of the roster for Beijing now that NHLers won't participate. Power will then return to Michigan for a championship push. And when Power’s season with the Wolverines ends, it seems inevitable that he’ll sign his entry-level contract to begin his task of helping turn the Sabres into a winner.
Adams won't say publicly if the plan is to sign Power this spring. Those conversations have been held with Power and his agent, Pat Brisson. Power isn't thinking about the NHL yet. When he stepped off the ice following this win, he was greeted by the Sabres' traveling party and, as he's done during his young career, had the self-awareness to quickly analyze how he fared on the ice. Where some might be content, Power strives for more. It's why the Sabres saw a return to Ann Arbor as a benefit for a prospect who soon will join the young core in Buffalo.
“We see the immense pressure on Dahlin,” said Granato. "It can kind of interfere with development because you jump to the professional level so fast, the pressure is different. The demand is different, where you don’t get to focus on your development. You are held accountable for what you actually are in that moment and it’s unfair to those young guys.
"For Owen to come back here and not have to deal with that is awesome. It gives him that opportunity to just focus on development.”
