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Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres (Evan Sabourin / The Hockey Writers)

Sabres Defender Owen Power Needs to Be Less Invisible

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jacob D. Strozyk | Last updated Nov 25, 2025 10:45 AM ET

When a young player is selected first overall in an NHL Draft, there are high expectations that follow them. More often than not, they are able to live up to those expectations, but sometimes they fall short and fade into mediocrity, or they fizzle out fast and are not seen in the NHL for very long (cough cough, Nail Yakupov).

When the Buffalo Sabres selected defender Owen Power first overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, they had the expectation that they would be getting a towering 6-foot-6 defender with great reach, good defensive awareness, limited physicality, and huge offensive upside. Since his full-time arrival in the NHL in the 2022-23 season, he has shown he is capable of these things, but as time goes on, signs point to other struggles as he fades amongst a very capable defensive cast besides him.

Power Has Great Skills

Over the years watching Power play, all of the right pieces are there. The problem is, they do not all show up at the same time to make him whole. When he is playing well, he is setting up plays, making good passes, breaking out of the zone with good pace, and most importantly, actually shooting the puck.

Power easily has one of the most underrated shots out of the defensive group (possibly even the team), but he just does not use it nearly as often as he should. Over the course of his first three seasons, he averaged around 1.6 shots per game and had a 4.5% shooting percentage. This season, he is averaging 1.16 shots per game and has an 8.3% shooting percentage, and it has been very noticeable how much less he has been shooting the puck.

Power is easily one of the Sabres’ best defenders at moving the puck and keeping control of it in the offensive zone. Using his hand skills has always been one of his best traits, so it is painful to see him avoid it in favor of trying to play passively. He needs to take a page out of Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson‘s books from this season and play to his strengths. Trying to improve something he is weak at is one thing, but changing his identity as a player is another problem entirely. Power is an offensive defender, and he needs to double down on that.

Power Is Fading as Others Rise

When Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin took a leave of absence earlier in November, there was a short period of time where Power, Byram, and/or Samuelsson were being looked at to step up and be much better players. Byram and Samuelsson answered the call, but Power faded into the background and was much more invisible. He was hardly noticeable during any of the games in that timespan, and when he was, it was only for negative reasons. As he has been getting passed on the depth chart, his ice time is being cut by a significant margin compared to his usual usage, and it is definitely noticeable.

Power’s average time on ice (TOI) is 20:48 this season, and that is much lower than his career average of 22:30. There have been games where he does not even eclipse the 20-minute mark at all, and is used on their third defensive pairing for a majority of the game. His low for the season came against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 17 when he had only 16:54 TOI. For a player that is being paid to be one of the top defenders on the team, he is not performing like one. He looks like he is in his own head, and he needs a jolt to get him back on track, so he can come into the limelight.

If Power Can Dominate, the Sabres’ Blue Line Is Unstoppable

Ideally, Power is able to find his stride and force his way back into the top four. With how Dahlin and Samuelsson have been playing together, there is no reason to break them up any time soon, but Power definitely should be able to outplay and outwork the likes of Conor Timmins for the second pairing spot alongside Byram once again. The Sabres’ offense needs a big jolt right now, and he is the perfect player to do it. Being that catalyst from the back end, and starting and finishing plays, would be the perfect way to show he can be the dominant player he is supposed to be.

Too many times this season, I have found myself saying, “Man, I wish Power would just take over a play and make something happen.” He has the capacity to do it, but for some reason, he just has not shown that he can or will this season at all. He has played like a passenger nearly all season long, and he needs to step into the driver’s seat. Having him at full capacity, combined with a newly rejuvenated (and scoring) Samuelsson, Dahlin coming back from his issues, Byram looking like his former self, and Timmins being an excellent complement to anyone he plays with, is a terrifying concept. This blue line at full capacity has the potential to be very scary, but it starts with Power playing like the first overall pick he is supposed to be.