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Finally watched this... when Benson jumps with all that weight, my word his legs are trees. Glad he said he needs more burst. Fun video, really cool look into his life and seeing him with his family was great. Offered Grandma, mom, grandpa donuts in that order, he gets it.

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/south-koreans-are-freed-in-georgia-after-hyundai-immigration-raid-6da45736

lol - ahhite. it's more the tone than the substance that i was talking about. but maybe i'm just refamiliarizing myself with the board.

I think Power can be a good defender in the NHL, but I'm not convinced plays the game the way I want. Not sure if that distinction makes sense but I'm not saying he needs to run ppl or hit everything. He plays passive, which was my initial impression of Mrtka until I got to see more of him. Power let's players come into his orbit, he doesn't manipulate much defensively. There's no, "attack on defense" and he's basically the opposite of Benson who very much attacks opposing players. On Mrtka, I've seen more and more of him attacking in the D zone. He shuts plays down by his own will as opposite which is sitting in your lane waiting for the forward to come into the space you want to defend.

Ask my girlfriend... She happy 😘

I didn't even put power top 5 in my 2021 rankings.

He was a worthy first person pick in that class. That's not to say that another player wouldn't have been a worthy pick for another team if they were making the pick. There is a difference between a tall player who can skate moving up the draft boards and a tall player who can skate being the first pick. With any player with that type of physical stature it normally takes more time to physically mature and reach a higher level. Tage is an example of that. Others can have their opinion on how Power ends up as a player. I'm in the column that very soon he will be an anchor defenseman for us.

has someone hacked this account? the vibe seems different.

He was the first pick in the draft because covid, awful draft, and nhl teams are stupid. Anyone tall who can skates jumps up draft boards.

Happy Birthday. We all appreciate your work in keeping this site going. 🍺

I don't understand the insistence of so many people for a player to play a game he is not suited for, and never will be. It's inarguable that Power needs to be more physical and responsible in the defensive zone. But he's not going to do that by knocking players on their derrieres. He's going to improve that aspect of his game with better positioning. Those who want to see him play like a gorilla and physically batter the players he is covering are going to be disappointed because it's not going to happen. That's not his makeup and that is not a style of play he is suited for. Assuming that Kesserling will be his partner (and maybe periodically Timmons) it should allow him to better accentuate his game which is skating and moving the puck out of the zone. There was a reason why he was the first pick in his draft year. That lofty draft position doesn't automatically make him a star but it is evident to me that he is going to be a very good player for us and eventually one of the better defensemen in the league. A side note: Dahlin, Byrum, Power, Kesserling, Timmons and Samuelsson seem to be a good group of talent. I expect a lot of our offense will be generated by the backside. The additions of Kesserling and Timmons should boost the unit.

I think this is correct, if I'm following you. I think Power will eventually be adequately physical as a d-man. But it's going to take some time (or has taken some time). I think he just needs to feel more like a man among men out there. Pronger was mean as hell.

Owen Power is a player the Sabres should watch very closely this year. Depending on how he plays, and I mean style of play, they should consider in June if they plan to move forward with him.

His physical contact has been mainly to turn his back on opponents near the boards and shield the puck, absorbing hits and shoves. A little more assertiveness will help him win more battles. His size and reach alone should mean he wins the majority of battles but wanting the puck more than your opponent is an intangible thing that can tilt a few battles. Once again, I am not asking for Pronger like snarl, just 10% more Power output.

I agree. Proof is in the pudding. But the news that he is working hard to get stronger is an indication that he is now taking his craft seriously. Hopefully that translates into being tougher to play against.

Happy Birthday

2 of which only want to play offense. By the way, I don’t want him to be Risto 2.0. I don’t need him running around hitting everyone, all I want is for him to be better defensively and incorporate some physicality into his game. I don’t think that is to much to ask.

His issue is confidence imo. Following that theory then it could

Off season fluff is all this is, you need to prove it on the ice for an ENTIRE season.

So you are playing both sides? Rooting for Ukraine while supporting Trump who is friends with Putin and gave him the opportunity by taking away sanctions that were working and allowing Putin to kill people with zero consequence... also helping Putin by trying to make Zelensky the enemy. Must be so hard to support someone who goes against everything you support.

Right. I’m saying that I hope he will play heavy and physical. It’s not semantics to distinguish playing physical and heavy from being “mean.”

I'm not disagreeing but it's funny how much people want him to basically be a better version of Risto. We have 3 top D men who all want to play offense. Nobody else has this. It's a problem.

The talk is the old "wants to win" talk and so he just doesn't want to stay there. He will play for less somewhere else. Wild are pretty much screwed.

Good for them. I hope European nations band together with Ukraine and fight. Every nation that borders Ukraine and held a realistic belief they might be next should have been in the fight from day one. Russian forces are depleted, there's never been a more opportune time to put an end to the Putin regime. I hope they seize it.