Season in Review | Owen Power

Every day through early May, Sabres.com will be recapping each player’s performance with all the numbers, highlights, quotations and content that tell the story of their 2024-25 season.

Today, we look at Owen Power’s third NHL campaign.

Owen Power, D

79 GP | 7 G | 33 A | 40 P | -13

• Read previous Season in Review profiles here

Season at a glance

Power’s third full NHL season – and first playing under coach Lindy Ruff – was spent with an emphasis on adding strength and detail to his defensive game.

Ruff spoke highly of the work Power, notoriously one of the last players off the ice after practices, had put toward improving his ability to win battles and box out opposing players around the net.

“He’s self-evaluating himself and he’s pretty good at it,” Ruff said in March. “He understands that there’s areas of his game that have to get better, need to get better. But he is a good student of the game. He loves the game and wants to get better.

“Throughout my career [with] young defensemen, it’s probably always been you need more strength the first few years. Long list of defensemen that you can go through from Brian Campbell, Tyler Myers. … When they first get here, those first few years, they need more strength.”

The 22-year-old continue to showcase the offensive talents that made him the No. 1 pick in 2021, reaching career highs in goals (7), assists (33), and points (40).

Number to know: 37

Power’s 37 even-strength points ranked 17th among NHL defensemen.

Watch this

Revisit Power's three-point performance in Boston on March 17, when he had a goal and an assist in regulation before setting up Alex Tuch's overtime winner:

They said it

“I think we’re on the same page. It’s just, for me, filling into my body and getting stronger. That’s kind of how I felt, and I think he’s on the same page.” – Power on Ruff’s message to him going into the offseason

“I think it’s no secret that Owen’s a really good player and he’s going to be a really good player for many, many years to come. His poise with the puck, the way he sees the ice, there’s not many guys who have that ability. I love getting to play with him and watch him. I’d say we’re both in similar situations still navigating the NHL and figuring out what needs to be done to be the best player you can be.” – defenseman Bowen Byram at his end-of-season press conference

End-of-season press conference

What’s next

Power fell awkwardly on his left leg during a collision with Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe on April 12. The injury forced him to miss the final three games of the season – the only three he missed all season – but the news since then has been positive.

Power said during his end-of-season press conference that he will not need surgery and expects a recovery time of roughly two months.

“I’ve still got to go and figure out what it’s gonna look like and how we’re gonna go about it, but I should be able to do some stuff in the gym (until then),” Power said. “But obviously with the lower-body stuff, it’s gonna have to wait.