The Buffalo Sabres‘ top prospect, defenceman Owen Power, is returning to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season. That means he will not be a part of the team’s rebuild that continues into the 2021-22 season. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News announced the decision Thursday morning.
Breaking: Sabres No. 1 draft pick Owen Power is returning to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, a source told The Buffalo News. @umichhockey https://t.co/6elVLOuJWG
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) August 19, 2021
Sabres’ Owen Power Returning to School
Power had a strong 2020-21 season despite the obstacles presented by the pandemic. He posted three goals and 16 points in 26 games for a strong Wolverines program that finished the year 15-10-1 and eighth in the final NCAA rankings. Power’s numbers aren’t superb on their own, but it’s excellent to see a freshman produce at such a respectable level. Michigan was very deep this season and the Big 10 is a strong hockey conference.
Every popular scouting service seemed to rank Power as the best prospect for the 2021 Draft and our own reports did the same. Power has a lot of strong points in his game including size, skating and puck-driving. He should be an outstanding option on the left side of Buffalo’s blueline behind Rasmus Dahlin. He may not be the same sort of generational defensive talent that some teams have drafted recently, but Power has the skills to be a true number one defender in a few seasons.
What This Means
This decision should have no negative impact on the future for either Buffalo or Power. Another year in school will allow the young man to develop his game further and dominate more thoroughly in what is hopefully a normal year of hockey. It will also allow him to spend more time developing his physical stature.
Sabres fans will just need to be patient. They already have a blueline set for 2021-22 that may be the team’s strongest feature. Dahlin remains an elite number one, but Henri Jokiharju, Will Butcher and Mark Pysyk add their own valuable skills to the mix. The team wouldn’t have been good with Power, so there is very little to lose while we wait for his debut in 2022-23.
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