Owen Power, is getting better. A lot better.

[LGR4GM]

Contrary to what most think, I have no issue admitting to being wrong. I didn't love Power through the draft process. I haven't loved most of his time in Buffalo. I recognize the skill of course but there's always been that lack of killer instinct that just never made me warm up to Power. In fact in November I suggested he might be a trade candidate, I did emphasize it was about his style of play more than a lack of skill, in order to get a floundering team some help. Which brings us to February, 2026. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7014781/2026/02/02/sabres-notes-owen-power-critics-tickets/?source=emp_shared_article

Quote

His offensive production is down, but some of that can be chalked up to bad luck. The team’s shooting percentage at five-on-five is less than 8 percent during Power’s minutes, well below its overall shooting percentage this season. But no player on the Sabres has been on the ice for more five-on-five high-danger chances than Power’s 194. The Sabres have 54 percent of the high-danger chances when he’s on the ice, the best mark among Buffalo’s defensemen. So his 16 points tell only part of the story.

“Every game you play, you learn more about your own game and how to play the game in general and utilize your tools, your size,” Tuch said. “You don’t have to crush guys to be hard to play against. Just use your size, shield pucks. He’s been a pain in the ass to forecheck against. He’s breaking the puck out with ease. He makes it easier for everyone around him.”

This quote bleeds into something else, goaltending. HD chances against are down while Buffalo has done a good job of getting their chances up. Power is a driver of that and that is really an important factor in defense. Can you limit HD against and generate HD for. The idea of "stay at home defensemen" in Ruff's system and most of the NHL is somewhat of a non existent notion. Back to Power, he's excellent at generating HD chances and has taken large steps into preventing them. I still think he is too passive but his positioning is solid and he's started to lean on guys a bit more. He still lacks that killer instinct in front of the net but if he continues to grow his game around breaking up passes, winning the wall battles more than losing, and his excellent outlet game, I think he could live up to the 1st overall pick. Idk if I have faith yet, but I have hope. Either way, well done Owen Power, you've gotten much better and are to this point, proving me and others wrong. Keep going. 

Edited February 2 by LGR4GM

[tom webster]

I know that there are those that would like a more physical element to the Sabres defense but their top four have the potential to be among the top three in the league. It would be nice if they weren’t all lefties but they can be really good. 

[shrader]

51 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I know that there are those that would like a more physical element to the Sabres defense but their top four have the potential to be among the top three in the league. It would be nice if they weren’t all lefties but they can be really good. 

Here’s the funny thing about wanting a more physical presence on the blue line. There are 6 slots, not 2. 

[French Collection]

I am of a similar opinion on Power.

He is getting better and that is a positive sign. He has increased his grit by 10%, which is all I was asking. I’m going to throw another coin in the fountain and ask for another 10%. He is starting to play more like a man than a gangly kid. After realizing that he won’t die from impact with another human and watching Dahlin have toughness without having to drop the gloves he could find another 10%.

He will never be the man while Dahlin is in Buffalo but I think he is starting to embrace his role as a part of a dominant top 4. Having this level of top 4 Dmen means that one guy is not having to bring his A game every night, they can do it by committee. While not as decorated as the Habs 70’s D corps, these guys are good and can tilt the ice.
 

There are similarities to Krebs realizing he will never be the top 2 C he was forecast as in his draft and early development years. He finally found his role as a Swiss Army knife and embraced it.

He is still not worth $8M but the gap is narrowing and I think he can get there. He is certainly better value than Darnell Nurse at $9M.

[nfreeman]

It’s been pretty clear IMHO that Power has taken a huge step over the past couple of months.   He is cool as a cucumber and highly effective, with great analysis and decision-making, in the D zone now.  His passing in the D zone and the neutral zone is excellent, as is his ability to skate it out of the zone and up the ice.

Surprisingly (to me anyway),  the aspect of his game with the most room for improvement has become, IMHO, offensive zone execution in tight spaces.  He passes it around quite well when he has space and time to survey the ice, but when he’s under pressure or on the rush, I think he doesn’t execute well and situations that could’ve become HD scoring chances just turn into pucks in the corner or turnovers.

The good news is that I think his hockey IQ is quite high so I kinda expect him to improve on this over time, as he has in the D zone.

And of course the real good news is that he’s turning into a very good, with upside to become great, NHL defenseman who can handle 23+ min per game in all situations.  

[mjd1001]

I'm of a little different opinion on this...

I think Power is slightly better now than he was earlier in the year.

Earlier in the year, I thought he was better than many on this forum thought.  I can remember many times a goal would be scored against the Sabres, and he would be near the net as the puck went in and variations of "Get rid of Power" or "Power is awful" would be posed in the game day threads.  Often times I'd rewatch the goals and find out Power was actually the one person who did what he should have done and there were breakdowns around him.  

He was getting blamed because of where he was on the ice for breakdowns happening away from him. It may be those 'other' breakdowns aren't occuring as much, so he doesn't look as bad tryin to cover for them, hence he 'looks' a lot better.

So, I think I thought his play was better at the beginning of the year than many, so his play now is pretty good, but the 'leap' isn't as big in my mind as it is for others.

Edited February 2 by mjd1001

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Contrary to what most think, I have no issue admitting to being wrong. I didn't love Power through the draft process. I haven't loved most of his time in Buffalo. I recognize the skill of course but there's always been that lack of killer instinct that just never made me warm up to Power. In fact in November I suggested he might be a trade candidate, I did emphasize it was about his style of play more than a lack of skill, in order to get a floundering team some help. Which brings us to February, 2026. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7014781/2026/02/02/sabres-notes-owen-power-critics-tickets/?source=emp_shared_article

This quote bleeds into something else, goaltending. HD chances against are down while Buffalo has done a good job of getting their chances up. Power is a driver of that and that is really an important factor in defense. Can you limit HD against and generate HD for. The idea of "stay at home defensemen" in Ruff's system and most of the NHL is somewhat of a non existent notion. Back to Power, he's excellent at generating HD chances and has taken large steps into preventing them. I still think he is too passive but his positioning is solid and he's started to lean on guys a bit more. He still lacks that killer instinct in front of the net but if he continues to grow his game around breaking up passes, winning the wall battles more than losing, and his excellent outlet game, I think he could live up to the 1st overall pick. Idk if I have faith yet, but I have hope. Either way, well done Owen Power, you've gotten much better and are to this point, proving me and others wrong. Keep going. 

@JohnC will like this ^  

My opinion is similar to yours.  If he played with more physicality he could be very similar to Slavin, but with more scoring upside.  

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

@JohnC will like this ^  

My opinion is similar to yours.  If he played with more physicality he could be very similar to Slavin, but with more scoring upside.  

I couldn't bring up the link but I did get a sense of what it said based on some of the responses. My often-stated response to the critics isn't that they are wrong in analyzing his game. My standard reply is that they are attempting to fit him in their preferable model of a defenseman when that is not who he is as a player. My repeated response is to accept him for his assets and understand his liabilities. In my estimation, his positives and future untapped positives overwhelm his deficiencies. 

Now as the tide seems to be turning on accepting Power, my next challenge is to get the Quinn critics to appreciate more what he can do rather than not what he can't do. This is a tougher nut to crack but I will continue chipping away. 

[JohnC]

23 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I'm of a little different opinion on this...

I think Power is slightly better now than he was earlier in the year.

Earlier in the year, I thought he was better than many on this forum thought.  I can remember many times a goal would be scored against the Sabres, and he would be near the net as the puck went in and variations of "Get rid of Power" or "Power is awful" would be posed in the game day threads.  Often times I'd rewatch the goals and find out Power was actually the one person who did what he should have done and there were breakdowns around him.  

He was getting blamed because of where he was on the ice for breakdowns happening away from him. It may be those 'other' breakdowns aren't occuring as much, so he doesn't look as bad tryin to cover for them, hence he 'looks' a lot better.

So, I think I thought his play was better at the beginning of the year than many, so his play now is pretty good, but the 'leap' isn't as big in my mind as it is for others.

I agree with you that the leap in his play isn't dramatic. However, what is evident to me is that it is a steady and more sustainable improvement that has me impressed with his current play. I'm confident that he will continue to not only get better but also be a member of one of the top two pairings unit in the league. And what is an even more unexpected surprise is that Samuelsson may be our most consistent performer in that group. If anyone would have made that claim prior to the season, I would have told him/her to sober up. 😀

[xzy89c1]

He has really improved along with rest of teams. Not sure if it is high tide raising all boats or he has taken a step forward. Many of us were ready to dump Samuelson but he has turned into Lidstrom light. Power is playing, at times with more urgency in own zone, but at other times...wow he looks bad. Trending in right direction.

[TageMVP]

Id still trade him. I figured out a way to block red X's from being applied to my posts 

[Eleven]

I never lost faith in the guy.  Never.  D takes time.  We saw it with Dahlin, too.

[shrader]

7 minutes ago, TageMVP said:

Id still trade him. I figured out a way to block red X's from being applied to my posts 

Did you?

[TageMVP]

Just now, shrader said:

Did you?

That one squeaked through still working on it 

[LGR4GM]

14 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I never lost faith in the guy.  Never.  D takes time.  We saw it with Dahlin, too.

No we didn't. Dahlin got Kruegered on and then was perfectly fine once that snake oil salesmen and worm tongue whispering charlatan left. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

I agree that Power is getting better, but I'm still not a fan.  He does a lot well and has improved positionally, but Mr. Stickcheck continues to cost us goals against when he fails to tie up opponents in front of the net and fails to knock guys off the puck ever.  I understand "that's not his game", but without that aspect in his game he is going to be a liability in the playoffs or against hard checking teams like Boston and Florida.  

His offense has also suffered this year and his shot is still mediocre at best.

We are paying this guy 8.3 per season and only getting a 5-6 mill in return.

Edited February 2 by GASabresIUFAN

[shrader]

34 minutes ago, TageMVP said:

That one squeaked through still working on it 

Stop caring about them and it won’t matter anymore. 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

No we didn't. Dahlin got Kruegered on and then was perfectly fine once that snake oil salesmen and worm tongue whispering charlatan left. 

How Krueger handled Dahlin was one of the worst examples of coaching I have ever seen.  He took a multi-talented player and neutered him. It was similar to the Bills former HC, Rauch, using OJ as a back to fake to and as a receiver, instead of basing the offense around his HOF running talents. Simply examples of stupendous stupidity!

 

Edited February 2 by JohnC

[Pimlach]

56 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

No we didn't. Dahlin got Kruegered on and then was perfectly fine once that snake oil salesmen and worm tongue whispering charlatan left. 

One thing that I think hampered Dahlin this teams inability to bring in a steady vet to help him when he was very young.  He was getting pushed around a lot with no one backing him.  When that happened he would often get frustrated and make mistakes.  Once he played his first All Star game and he spent time with Hedman he seemed to get more physical.  Maybe Hedman helped him?  Maybe he just watched him and learned on his own?  I thought he started to play with more edge and much more push back after that.    

[North Buffalo]

2 hours ago, TageMVP said:

Id still trade him. I figured out a way to block red X's from being applied to my posts 

I just added an X to join the crowd, still mixed on Power but he is getting better.

[mjd1001]

9 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

I just added an X to join the crowd, still mixed on Power but he is getting better.

I did the same thing, but now it appears he's going back through some of my old posts and adding more 'x's just out of some kind of retribution maybe? I don't know, just thought it was strange after I added the x I got a few back on some older posts.

Edited February 2 by mjd1001

[EM88]

2 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I did the same thing, but now it appears he's going back through some of my old posts and adding more 'x's just out of some kind of retribution maybe? I don't know, just thought it was strange after I added the x I got a few back on some older posts.

I did not get any.  I feel a bit left out.  Maybe it is because I do not post as much as all of you do.

 

11 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

I just added an X to join the crowd, still mixed on Power but he is getting better.

 

[pi2000]

He's a young defenseman who is still developing.    With his tool set and the right mindset he'll continue to improve.

[pastajoe]

Now would be the time for Jarmo to be bold and offer Power, Ostland, Norris, and a prospect to Toronto for Matthews and McCabe.

[tom webster]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I agree that Power is getting better, but I'm still not a fan.  He does a lot well and has improved positionally, but Mr. Stickcheck continues to cost us goals against when he fails to tie up opponents in front of the net and fails to knock guys off the puck ever.  I understand "that's not his game", but without that aspect in his game he is going to be a liability in the playoffs or against hard checking teams like Boston and Florida.  

His offense has also suffered this year and his shot is still mediocre at best.

We are paying this guy 8.3 per season and only getting a 5-6 mill in return.

It’s unlikely both Boston and Florida make the playoffs and whichever one does is likely to be bounced by Tampa. Problem solved😉