The Buffalo Sabres received awesome news on Wednesday, when it was revealed defenseman Owen Power was a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
Owen Power played in 79 games this past season and snagged 35 points, four goals, and 31 assists, which on the surface, is pretty pedestrian for someone many look at as a two-way player. But Power’s game goes far beyond points total, given the fact he averaged over 20 minutes per game (23:48 to be exact) with what was the youngest team in hockey.
Per Lance Lysowski of Buffalo News, only Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks saw more ice time per game at 5-on-5 than Power’s 19:47. What’s more? No other rookie had ever accrued that much ice time at 5-on-5, so that alone shows just how much trust Power earned from the Sabres coaching staff.
Given the amount of time he was asked to be on the ice this past season, that alone shows us that Power deserves to win the most coveted prize among NHL rookies since he basically took on the responsibilities of an established veteran. For his efforts, there is already talk from general manager Kevyn Adams to sign Power to a long-term deal which, like Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and Mattias Samuelsson, will keep him in Buffalo for the long haul.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power will make a jump in 2023-24
It’s clear Power can handle more than a boatload of ice time game in and game out. So look for that trend to continue in 2023-24. The only difference is that you will see Power cover even more ice in the defensive zone as he continues to improve his positioning – which was off at times last season.
You can also expect him to score more, as during the second half of 2022-23, we saw Power take more shots, and drive the puck closer to the net, as opposed to playing almost exclusively near the blue line when in the offensive zone. With better positioning and points production, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Buffalo Sabres allowed fewer goals on Power’s end next year, and they can easily create even more offensively.
Whether Power wins the award or not isn’t relevant. No, his scoring numbers don’t look Calder-worthy, but given the way he handled so much ice time early on and succeeded in doing so, there is a chance he can walk away with the honor, and he would more than deserve it.
Source: Sabres rookie defenseman Owen Power named finalist for Calder Trophy by Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference, Buffalo News)