Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 Player Outlook: Owen Power

The Buffalo Sabres did not have a good defensive rotation in 2022-23, but then-rookie Owen Power was one of a few exceptions.

Recently, I penned a longform piece on Buffalo Sabres blueliner Owen Power, citing his good statistics but moderate to poor analytics in certain important categories. It was one of those classic eye-test vs. analytics cases, as to the eyes, Power looked great for a rookie, and both head coach Don Granato and general manager Kevyn Adams were happy with his output.

Obviously, it was one of those cases when analytics, which while interesting, can be misleading and shouldn’t be taken at face value. It was, for all intents, a good season for Power, and if you watched him play, you would have seen that. Power had a solid 35-point outing, four goals, and 31 assists. He received All-Rookie honors, and he logged a ridiculous 23:48 of ice time.

Surely, if Power was as bad as the analytics claimed he was in various categories pertinent to a defenseman, he’s not getting nearly 24 minutes of ice time. Another statistic that jumped out at me was on-ice save percentage, which sat at 90.8% at even strength and 91.5% when Power was on the ice – one solid and the other, quite a remarkable number that, once again, if they were in, say, Jacob Bryson range, Power isn’t getting on the ice so often.

Owen Power will be a dynamic blueliner for the Buffalo Sabres in 2023-24

Entering his second full season, the game will naturally slow down for Power, and that alone will grant him better output in 2023-24. But he, barring injury, will also enjoy the luxury of having a decent player lining up alongside him on the second pairing – remember those bad analytics I discussed earlier? One reason they can be misleading, as in Power’s case, sometimes has to do with teammates as opposed to the player themselves.

That said, where Power struggled last season in zone entries according to the charts, you will see that number improve because he’s no longer forced to spend most of his time lining up alongside Henri Jokiharju. This will turn Power into a more complete player and next to Rasmus Dahlin, the most complete defenseman on the team.

Expect better defensive play in every facet for Power, and look for his points total to increase offensively. Overall, my realistic projection is that he hits 45 points for the first time in his career, with five goals and 40 assists.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)