Owen Power

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, inkman said:

Was he with the Isles?  He didn’t really lean into it until he was 23 in his 4th professional season. 

Eventually yes, his last year with the Isles was his highest PIM in a season.  He definitely got meaner with age and confidence.  

[HOUSE]

The guy is just a freaking kid. His bedroom is probably a mess too.

 

[LabattBlue]

8 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

The guy is just a freaking kid. His bedroom is probably a mess too.

 

What’s your point?   🤔

[Pimlach]

35 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

The guy is just a freaking kid. His bedroom is probably a mess too.

 

He is young enough to have had a Buzz Lightyear toy.  

[HOUSE]

47 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

What’s your point?   🤔

It's not fair to judge a 21 year old kid, especially a defenseman. Even Bobby Orr struggled

Edited October 24 by HOUSE

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, HOUSE said:

It's not fair to judge a 20 year old kid, especially a defenseman. Even Bobby Orr struggled

He turns 22 in a few weeks.  He makes 8 mil a year, and shouldn’t be judged?  Okay Mrs. Power. 
 

😂

[sabresparaavida]

40 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

He is young enough to have had a Buzz Lightyear toy.  

So is 90% of the league, Toy Story came out almost 30 years ago

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, HOUSE said:

The guy is just a freaking kid. His bedroom is probably a mess too.

 

True. Who has time to make a bed when you've got to spend all that time on your hair. 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, HOUSE said:

It's not fair to judge a 21 year old kid, especially a defenseman. Even Bobby Orr struggled

 

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

He turns 22 in a few weeks.  He makes 8 mil a year, and shouldn’t be judged?  Okay Mrs. Power. 
 

😂

When Booby Orr was 22: 

GP       G         A         Pts     PIM

78       37       102      139       91

There was no  one like him.  

[Stads]

13 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

When Booby Orr was 22: 

GP       G         A         Pts     PIM

78       37       102      139       91

There was no  one like him.  

That's okay I suppose. Couldn't even hit 40 goals or 140 points. Hope it got better from there

[ska-T Chitown]

11 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

I think in the offseason I said I wanted Power to aim for getting 1 credited hit per game. It's not that he's a checker or ever will be. I just need him to be comfortable with the confrontation. How to hit, how to protect himself while delivering contact, pinching players against the boards and simply getting in the way. He cannot shy away from contact or fail to protect his goalie and crease.

Let's say his physicality right now is 1 out of 5. I want him to get comfortable being a 2, so that when this team makes the playoffs, and he's getting run every time he touches the puck in game one and the refs swallow their whistles midway through the second period ---  he only has to go from 2 to 4, rather than from 1 to 4. Because there will be players on the opposition in the Atlantic (first two playoff rounds) that will be playing at a 7 out of 5.

I don't think he shies away from hits. He does not often seek out hitting another player, true. But, if you watch him behind his own net or along the boards, I think he does a pretty good job of using his massive frame to brace for hits, absorb the hit while shielding the puck, then get the puck the phuck outta there. We saw a nearly polar opposite playing in Risto - he would hit his own mother into the boards, but MAN did it take him out of position A LOT. The other team would attack him, he'd over compensate and they would just scoop the puck right up. 

Power has a great stick check, top end skating, good body control along the boards, and can generally absorb a hit while maintaining position. Sounds pretty good to me.

[LGR4GM]

I've stayed mostly out of this thread because honestly except for a couple of examples, I've liked his play thus far. 

[#freejame]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

 

When Booby Orr was 22: 

GP       G         A         Pts     PIM

78       37       102      139       91

There was no  one like him.  

Yeah, but like, it wasn’t easy 

[nfreeman]

As I said in the GDT, I thought Power was great on both ends vs Dallas.  I also think he's been very good all year and that there's a good chance he's in the process of taking a major step up this season.

[JohnC]

15 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I've stayed mostly out of this thread because honestly except for a couple of examples, I've liked his play thus far. 

That's what is so perplexing about this discussion: He's playing well. His last game against Dallas was very good. The basis of the criticisms of him relate to his style of play that lacks aggression and pugnacity. And to my surprise, I very like much like the Byram and Power combo. 

[mjd1001]

11 minutes ago, JohnC said:

That's what is so perplexing about this discussion: He's playing well. His last game against Dallas was very good. The basis of the criticisms of him relate to his style of play that lacks aggression and pugnacity. And to my surprise, I very like much like the Byram and Power combo. 

Its a lot of what you just said.

People want to see him hit the opposition. When he DOES make a bad play that can often be an excuse to jump on his play.  Its kinda like "He doesn't hit anyone and then He makes THAT play!?!?"  

Right now when Power plays well in his own zone, you don't really notice it. If he is where he is supposed to be (he USUALLY is) and he is making the safe play getting the puck away from the zone, those things aren't always noticed.

[bg17]

37 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

As I said in the GDT, I thought Power was great on both ends vs Dallas.  I also think he's been very good all year and that there's a good chance he's in the process of taking a major step up this season.

The play leading to the Tage goal was spectacular. He shut Seguin down cold on a rush and must have been shot out of a cannon to join the play and get the primary assist. Would love to see the whole ice view of that sequence. 

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Its a lot of what you just said.

People want to see him hit the opposition. When he DOES make a bad play that can often be an excuse to jump on his play.  Its kinda like "He doesn't hit anyone and then He makes THAT play!?!?"  

Right now when Power plays well in his own zone, you don't really notice it. If he is where he is supposed to be (he USUALLY is) and he is making the safe play getting the puck away from the zone, those things aren't always noticed.

You make a keen point that his efficiency in making the right play is not as noticeable as a player whose style is more physically combative. As you point out, quickly getting the puck out of your zone isn't as eye popping of tangling with the opposition in your own zone. This young guy is quietly good and doesn't catch the eye of many of the viewers who favor body contact. 

I'm a Power fan. He is playing well now, and in the not-too-distant future he will be rated as an upper tier defenseman in this league. I already consider him to be an anchor player for us. 

[bg17]

60 point pace for the season. I’ll take it. 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, bg17 said:

60 point pace for the season. I’ll take it. 

I have to agree with this.

I hope he keeps it up and stays involved at this level.  

[mjd1001]

10 hours ago, bg17 said:

60 point pace for the season. I’ll take it. 

Right now take out the top line (Tuch, Peterka, and Tage) and he has more points than anyone on the team.

-Now his assist on Dahlin's goal wasn't much, he just flipped it over to Dahlin and then Dahlin made a nice play...(any D-man should make the same play)

-And on Byrams goal, the faceoff was won and all he had to do with control the puck and flip it across to Bryam (again, any D-man should make that play)

-Krebs goal he got an assist and it was on a weak shot that was deflected 2 times...

-McLeods goal he made a nice stretch pass, but again, not anything that half of your defensemen can't/shouldn't do

-On Thompsons go it was kinda a 'modified' give and go, where tage gave him the puck and he just gave it right back to Tage....

 

Ok, OK, but the point is, He IS making these plays.  There has to be something said for him being in position to get those assists so that means something.

On a different topic, I know others disagree with me, but his assists are a great example of why I value goals so much more than assists. In going back and watching most of his assists, he made either 'decent' plays or 'incidental' plays but was credited with an assist, while the goal scorer on most of them did a lot more of the work/displayed a lot more skill than the guys getting the assist.  On Tage's goal, he should have gotten credit for the goal AND an assist on his own goal equal to the assists given out.

[LGR4GM]

If you look at Power through the lens of him being a good puck mover and not through "he's 6'6" and should be crushing dudes" then he's pretty solid for a 21yr old defender in the NHL. His positioning is solid, he uses his reach well, he sees the ice well and can make really good passes. His gap control is good if you accept that more agile speedy forwards will have an advantage once they get inside his reach. Is he a #1... no. Is he a #2... probably not at this moment. Is he a strong #3, very much so. He can also grow into a #2 and I hope that happens. 

I went back and looked, I had a defender ahead of Power in that draft, in fact I ranked Owen 6th in that draft. Looking back, I don't have a reason to move him up. Maybe I should drop Eklund down but I wouldn't drop Beniers, Clarke, McTavish, or Guenther below Power at this point.  The issue here is not Owen Power, it is that you can draft Owen Power's (40ish pt, big puck mover) later in the first and sometimes into the 2nd. For example in 2022 we could have taken Mintyukov instead of Savoie (I would have) or even Liam Bischel instead of Östlund.

My point is that the Sabres do not seem to possess the ability to look at drafts in terms of what are the next 2 drafts like? For example the 2024 draft was defense heavy, but the 2025 is forward heavy, now Helenius slid so that is a fine pick but they shouldn't turn around and force themselves into drafting a defender in 2025 and frankly I feel like they fell into the trap for 2021 by not looking at it and saying, well 2022 will have more defender as first round grades so we should consider that in rankings. They acted as though this was only way to get this type of defender and truthfully, it isn't. Turthfully if you are drafting in the top 5, unless there is something really really special, you should take the forward and if it is a center, you take the center. It is just more valuable with how defenders develop and how you can get them later in the first. 

This is not a post to crap on Owen Power. He's probably going to be a top 3-5 defender from his class and I think some of his issues are overblown here. Again, if you accept that he is a puck moving guy with a long reach that isn't overly physical and is a #2 defender, you are good to go. That said, and why Buffalo picked him, there is still the potential of him growing into a legit 1b defender who adds a bit of physicality while playing a bit faster and having 10goals and 45assists. His passing is sometimes really really good. Depends on if Ruff can move him in that direction. 

Edited November 1 by LGR4GM

[SwampD]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

If you look at Power through the lens of him being a good puck mover and not through "he's 6'6" and should be crushing dudes" then he's pretty solid for a 21yr old defender in the NHL. His positioning is solid, he uses his reach well, he sees the ice well and can make really good passes. His gap control is good if you accept that more agile speedy forwards will have an advantage once they get inside his reach. Is he a #1... no. Is he a #2... probably not at this moment. Is he a strong #3, very much so. He can also grow into a #2 and I hope that happens. 

I went back and looked, I had a defender ahead of Power in that draft, in fact I ranked Owen 6th in that draft. Looking back, I don't have a reason to move him up. Maybe I should drop Eklund down but I wouldn't drop Beniers, Clarke, McTavish, or Guenther below Power at this point.  The issue here is not Owen Power, it is that you can draft Owen Power's (40ish pt, big puck mover) later in the first and sometimes into the 2nd. For example in 2022 we could have taken Mintyukov instead of Savoie (I would have) or even Liam Bischel instead of Östlund.

My point is that the Sabres do not seem to possess the ability to look at drafts in terms of what are the next 2 drafts like? For example the 2024 draft was defense heavy, but the 2025 is forward heavy, now Helenius slid so that is a fine pick but they shouldn't turn around and force themselves into drafting a defender in 2025 and frankly I feel like they fell into the trap for 2021 by not looking at it and saying, well 2022 will have more defender as first round grades so we should consider that in rankings. They acted as though this was only way to get this type of defender and truthfully, it isn't. Turthfully if you are drafting in the top 5, unless there is something really really special, you should take the forward and if it is a center, you take the center. It is just more valuable with how defenders develop and how you can get them later in the first. 

This is not a post to crap on Owen Power. He's probably going to be a top 3-5 defender from his class and I think some of his issues are overblown here. Again, if you accept that he is a puck moving guy with a long reach that isn't overly physical and is a #2 defender, you are good to go. That said, and why Buffalo picked him, there is still the potential of him growing into a legit 1b defender who adds a bit of physicality while playing a bit faster and having 10goals and 45assists. His passing is sometimes really really good. Depends on if Ruff can move him in that direction. 

I think even through that lens he looks good. That part of the game is probably the hardest to learn, at least the net front wrestling matches.

21,… jeebus.

Still a puppy.

Edited November 1 by SwampD

[bg17]

3 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

Right now take out the top line (Tuch, Peterka, and Tage) and he has more points than anyone on the team.

-Now his assist on Dahlin's goal wasn't much, he just flipped it over to Dahlin and then Dahlin made a nice play...(any D-man should make the same play)

-And on Byrams goal, the faceoff was won and all he had to do with control the puck and flip it across to Bryam (again, any D-man should make that play)

-Krebs goal he got an assist and it was on a weak shot that was deflected 2 times...

-McLeods goal he made a nice stretch pass, but again, not anything that half of your defensemen can't/shouldn't do

-On Thompsons go it was kinda a 'modified' give and go, where tage gave him the puck and he just gave it right back to Tage....

 

Ok, OK, but the point is, He IS making these plays.  There has to be something said for him being in position to get those assists so that means something.

On a different topic, I know others disagree with me, but his assists are a great example of why I value goals so much more than assists. In going back and watching most of his assists, he made either 'decent' plays or 'incidental' plays but was credited with an assist, while the goal scorer on most of them did a lot more of the work/displayed a lot more skill than the guys getting the assist.  On Tage's goal, he should have gotten credit for the goal AND an assist on his own goal equal to the assists given out.

Every player in the league racks up points that are nothing to write home about. No point in picking them apart. 

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, bg17 said:

Every player in the league racks up points that are nothing to write home about. No point in picking them apart. 

If we are discussing that he is accumulating a lot more points than usual, then sure, its perfectly justified to see where they are coming from. Are they typical 'run of mill points' or is he making great plays?  Totally justified...that is what a message board is, for us to talk about this stuff.

And by the way, I agree with your premise, that a lot of points, mostly assists, are nothing home to write about. 100% agree, but I was engaged in a discussion in a different thread when I pointed that out.

Edited November 1 by mjd1001