Louis Crevier flashed a wide grin when asked about his first impressions of fellow Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power.
“Well, he got three assists in his first game,” Crevier said. “So, he’s a great player.”
After playing some of the best hockey of his young career in last season’s playoffs, Power seemed to pick up right where he left off in the Sabres’ 5-1 preseason win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. He skated 24:05 with a plus-4 rating and three assists.
It was a strong start for the 23-year-old, whose role could increase in a multitude of ways following the offseason departure of his former defense partner Bowen Byram. The Sabres acquired two defensemen this offseason – Crevier and Olen Zellweger – with the thought of one of them joining Power on the second pair.
Zellweger started camp as Power’s partner but sustained a concussion during the game against the Blue Jackets. With Zellweger out, it was Crevier who lined up alongside Power at Thursday’s practice.
In either case, Power will be the steady veteran on his pair helping usher along a new defenseman into the Sabres’ up-tempo system.
“I think both of them are going to fit in really well with the core that we already have,” Power said of Crevier and Zellweger. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Power has also taken the reigns as the point man on Buffalo’s second power-play unit, a spot primarily occupied by Byram last season. The Sabres have gone to work on improving their power play, which ranked 21st in the league last season, early in camp.
“I think (the focus is) just attacking more," Power said. "Being able to build on chances in-zone and to just not have one and dones, be able to recover pucks and attack right off them and create high-danger looks from that.”
And, in the short term, Power could see even more minutes than usual while the Sabres await the return of Mattias Samuelsson, who’s week to week with a lower-body injury. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff suggested Power could see shifts alongside Rasmus Dahlin in Samuelsson’s absence.
The Sabres were able to rely on Power heavily down the stretch and in the playoffs last season as he continued to round his defensive game into form. He had six assists and a plus-5 rating in 13 playoff games despite playing through a grade-3 ankle sprain.
After the season, Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen said he believed Power was “only scratching the surface” of his potential.
“Just continue to build off last year,” Power said when asked about his goals for the upcoming season. “Continue to work on my game every day and try and get a little bit better.”
