Two young, high-potential players could crush it on the Sabres second pairing

The Buffalo Sabres projected first pairing should be a given, but there are a lot of what-ifs regarding the second and third. While we’ll wait another day before diving too deeply into the third pairing, let’s talk about two young players who may comprise a high-potential second pair should they simultaneously improve. 

One player wasn’t too popular with the team this past season, but the data shows that he either improved in some areas or took a nominal step back, the latter of which was less than what you can say for a significant portion of the team. As for Player No. 2, let’s just say he made an outstanding first impression with the Blue and Gold and should build on it in 2024-25. 

Owen Power

If there’s one Sabres player who underperformed last year - but not too much, might I add - yet should bounce back and wow fans with a solid season, it’s Owen Power. But let’s debunk some myths before they dive too deeply into Sabres lore, as the keyphrase above was ‘but not too much.’ 

Power struggled through some miscues, but he only gave the puck away 36 times, a sound 16 times fewer than he had in 2022-23, and he also got in front of pucks 115 times. Yeah, he needs to lay out opponents more after logging just 45 body checks, especially with his size, but still, that’s better than the measly 27 checks he landed in 2022-23. 

Power also finished the year with a plus-8, plus-50 percent in the Corsi For at even strength, and when the Sabres were on the ice in the same situation, he was there for 82 goals for. Not as many as the 94 goals in 2022-23, but few players were on the ice for the same number this past season. Not a huge drawback. 

Bowen Byram

Nine points, three goals, 18 games, not a bad stat line for Bowen Byram to show Sabres fans that he was worth acquiring for Casey Mittelstadt. Anyway, the Sabres realized a long time ago they needed more physicality, and Byram brought that, too, with 34 hits in those 18 games, and with 29 blocks and seven takeaways, he also showed he could help out in multiple areas defensively. 

He also managed solid minutes at 21:51 of average total ice time, and since he’s entering his age-23 season, Byram and Owen Power are also roughly the same age with a similar number of experience in games played. The takeaway is that these two players can grow together, and while Power will be a Sabre for a while, Byram should prove his worth if the two are indeed on the same pairing and play well alongside one another.