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Sabres' options: Owen Power


LGR4GM

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  • LGR4GM changed the title to Sabres' options: Owen Power
37 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

First, his name is Owen Power. Let's not Reinhardt him. 

Second, I was going to write a long post about him tomorrow. Breaking down his strengths and weaknesses but ask and you shall receive. 

 

I snipped for the relevant clips but I have two thoughts on them. Clip one Power plays the forward entering the zone real tight, likely knowing the forward (skating forward with momentum), has the ability to skate past him. What makes me wonder is does Power close the gap and give up the outside in that instance because he knows he has the reach and ability to break up the play because of his stature or is he poorly positioning himself and saving himself because of his stature. If it is the former, to me, that's smart forward thinking hockey knowing the forward thinks he can break right past him with his speed and is baited into losing possession. If he plays the forward that way because of a lack of d ability and uses his stature to make up for his mistake then that's a giant red flag. It's tough to tell from the clip what his intention is. One would hope it is the former, but considering he is an 18 year old defenseman, it is likely the later.

Regarding the second clip, I don't think it shows anything regarding his abilities to stay on the puck. He tries to cut up ice, meets a forward, tries to change direction, and his trail leg gets tangled with the attacking forward. Skating is tough, regardless if you are the number one prospect or McDavid, that's not a play I would use to show his inability to play the boards. I would be more interested in seeing how he plays physically in a more straight up scrum behind or adjacent to the net. It's so easy to get tangled and go down at any level, especially in a play like that, that it really doesn't add much to his evaluation. Clip two is Reinhart to a T in my opinion.

Regardless, thanks for continuously providing this information. 

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5 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Good way to try to get more people on board with you by starting a thread and loading it with a thread tearing him apart lol

Half the clips are completely debatable as to how they reflect his ability. For example, you can take the second clip, replace him with the exact same Reinhart clip, and the board would have a week long conversation on his skating ability. 

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15 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Half the clips are completely debatable as to how they reflect his ability. For example, you can take the second clip, replace him with the exact same Reinhart clip, and the board would have a week long conversation on his skating ability. 

Find a flaw, then find one clip that shows it. Ugh.

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DRAFT POWER

EVERY PROSPECT HAS WARTS.

You don't find D with his size and skill set very often... he'll eat minutes, provide offense and shore up the d-zone.   He's a grade A kid with a fantastic head on his shoulders, a coaches dream.    Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Edited by pi2000
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3 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Find a flaw, then find one clip that shows it. Ugh.

But half of them are debatable if they are a flaw. My post upthread went through two. One of which could indicate a great defensive play or luck due to size. The second could very well just be an everyday example of a player getting his trail leg caught by an attacking forward on a pivot or it could indicate poor skating ability and balance. I don't think the post was meant to reflect as poorly on Power as many are making it out to be. We still regularly have conversations about Reinhart doing exactly what is seen in that second clip. @LGR4GM is trying to drive conversation and I think he is receiving too much pushback because people are taking the clips at face value rather than looking at what is going on in the clips. 

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LOL is this what it has come to? Acting like petulant children because someone doesn’t think their hockey team is going to pick the player they want.

 

Is this really what this board is going to look like for the next month plus?
 

NEWSFLASH: Building prospects up or tearing them down HAS NO IMPACT on who the team selects at the draft.

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27 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I don’t see how having a guy named Power can hurt. 

The marketing is built right in isn't it? Power play. Power to the people. The Power's out (hopefully not often). Power's back on.........and on and on it can go. 

The only hockey player name I like better in this draft is Red Savage.  That one's too good to believe. 

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I'm encouraged by the way Power talks about the game. He's got a few Hedman comparisons and in this Athletic article he doesn't just go "yea, we're both big and can skate." It's a more nuanced and understanding response.

Quote

“He can put up points, but he kills a lot of plays before they even start. Coming out of the other team’s end he’s always right on top of the other team’s forwards, his gaps and stick are excellent.”

He talks a lot about "thinking the game" in interviews. He clearly knows it's important to have the right mindset on the ice as much as being big or skating or being quick.

I've also noticed in a lot of clips that he's comfortable anywhere on the blueline - he glides with and without the puck to whatever open ice is there for him and really seems to understand the system he's in (note: this is mostly a guess because I obviously don't know the system but he looks like he's in control of his game). His offensive game will benefit a ton from his ability to be calm when pressured at the point.

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With the graduation of Mitts and Cozens to the NHL, please name our top Center prospect? We have goalies, we have D and we have two top flight wingers in JJP and Quinn.  
 

Beniers reminds me of one player in the NHL and his name is Patrice Bergeron.  

Powers is a fine player but with Dahlin, Joker, Bryson, Samuelson, Borgen and Laaksonen and Johnson coming we have plenty of young D to work with.  
This draft is deep with D and a good one should be available in the second Rd.

Grab the next Bergeron and we can say good bye to tank 1.0 and get on with a proper rebuild and a great young spine of Mitts, Cozens and Beniers.  

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This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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