Owen Power enters 2026-27 with the pressure of a player who can’t just blend in anymore.
The Sabres defenseman has already lived through the easy excuses and the familiar debates. Some have been quick to say he hasn’t come close to living up to his “first overall pick” billing.
Others have pushed back on that line of thinking. But after another season without major growth in his game, the conversation has shifted to something much simpler: Power needs real progress now, or he risks becoming exactly what he has been far too often so far - a player who is just there.
That’s the problem with Power’s game. He has spent his NHL run trying to walk a line between offense and defense, but he has rarely found a way to do both at the same time.
When he leans into the offensive side, he can make good passes and take quality shots from the offensive zone, but the defensive lapses pile up behind it. When he locks in defensively, the puck-moving creativity seems to disappear.
The balance has been missing, and it has held him back.
At 23 years old and standing 6-foot-6, Power is still the kind of defenseman Buffalo drafted to be an offensive driver from the blue line. The calls for him to become a heavier, more physical player don’t really match the type of defender he has been.
He hasn’t suddenly changed his style since reaching the NHL, so the next step is not reinventing him. It’s building better habits around the game he already has.
That becomes even more important now that Bowen Byram is gone from the depth chart. Last season, Power had the luxury of Byram handling many of the responsibilities that were expected from him. That safety net is gone, and the spotlight is squarely on Power to help fill the void on the blue line.
His preseason games didn’t provide much reason to think he’s ready to grab that role right away. He was guilty of too many basic mistakes in his own zone, and he passed up too many chances to make something happen going the other way.
One play in particular stood out: a loose puck was still available in the offensive zone, Power was the closest man to it, and instead of stepping in with confidence, he hesitated. He ended up flat-footed at the blue line, had to back off under pressure, and did nothing to push the play forward.
That kind of passivity is exactly what Buffalo cannot afford from him now. If he wants to matter more, and if he wants to be a real factor on the second power play unit, he has to make faster, firmer decisions. The Sabres need more urgency and less caution.
The stakes are bigger than just one player having an average year. If Power produces another season that looks flat on the stat sheet and ordinary everywhere else, Buffalo is staring at a problem.
He signed a contract extension in 2023 that still has five seasons left, and he remains a core piece whether his play matches that label or not. But his standing will only slide if he doesn’t start separating himself.
Power has to show he can be the guy who changes a game. He has to prove that if Rasmus Dahlin were ever to go down with an injury, he could step into that kind of role and deliver.
For the Sabres, that’s the standard now. For Power, it’s the only way forward.
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The timing matters, too, because Buffalo is still waiting for some help on the blue line. Olen Zellweger was a full participant in Fridays practice and is moving closer to coming out of concussion protocol, which could give the Sabres another needed option on defense just as they try to turn edge and engagement into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]