The NHL’s 2025-26 season is only a handful of weeks away, and here at THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’ve started a player-by-player series that analyzes each Sabre this past season and their probable contributions next year.
Every Sabres member wants nothing more than a Stanley Cup playoff appearance, but as individual athletes, Buffalo’s players all have at least slightly different goals and expectations for ‘25-26. And with that in mind, after focusing Monday night on Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, we’re moving to another key young blueliner for Buffalo – defenseman Owen Power.
Like Dahlin and every Sabres player, Power faces a huge amount of pressure to get this Sabres team into the playoffs. And while Power is a few years younger than Dahlin, Power needs to do his part and step up and help guide Buffalo to a playoff berth. And the good news is he has the skills to do that.
Player Name: Owen Power
Position: Defenseman
Age: 22
2024-25 Key Statistics: 79 games, 33 assists, 40 points, 21:19 average time-on-ice
2025-26 Salary: $8.35-million
2025-26 Expectations: As someone drafted with the first-overall draft pick in 2021, Power has a high bar to clear when it comes to expectations on him. And while it would be unfair to suggest Power suffered a setback this past season, the 22-year-old did not have an ideal performance in many regards.
For one thing, Power’s time-on-ice average was cut by more than 90 seconds per game last season, going from an average of 22:55 in 2023-24 to 21:19 last season. That’s the second consecutive season Power’s average ice time was cut by at least one minute per game. And now, will Sabres coach Lindy Ruff cut Power’s minutes again? That seems counterproductive, but it would be the continuation of a two-year trend, so we’re not counting it out by any means.
Although Power did set new career-highs in goals (seven), assists (33) and points (40) last year, it wasn’t as if he blew his previous career-bests out of the water. For three years now, Power has put up between 27-33 assists per year, and between 33-40 points – not terrible numbers, but not numbers you’d associate with a No. 1-overall pick.
Also impacting the judgment on Power is the fact he’s the second-highest-paid player on the Sabres’ roster at $8.35-million per-season. Power is in Year 2 of a seven-year contract, and his pay rate means he’s going to be held to a higher standard than most Buffalo players.
To be sure, Power’s offensive numbers should be higher, given his 1:36 of average power-play time last year. He may be the second banana to Dahlin on the back end, but that doesn’t mean Power has to trail Dahlin’s offensive stats by 28 points, the way he did last season. Dahlin is a special player, but Power was drafted also to be a special player, and he needs to deliver more than he’s delivered thus far.
Now, Power is nowhere close to his peak years, so that has to be taken into account when grading his performance. But as Buffalo attempts to end its 14-year playoff drought, every Sabres player needs to elevate their game, and that includes Power.
Arguably Buffalo’s strongest area is its defense corps, and Power is one of the key reasons why that is so. But Power has to do more – and maybe, do more with less – so his challenge is clear. He’s an integral component of the Sabres’ blueprint for success, but the pressure on Power is considerable, and it isn’t likely to subside anytime soon.
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