BUFFALO — Ask Owen Power for his ‘Welcome to the NHL’ moment from last season and the Buffalo Sabres rookie doesn’t mention having to match up against Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in what was his pro debut.
Nor does he talk about the challenges of defending against Patrick Kane’s skill, Brad Marchand’s tenacity or even trying to slow down Mathew Barzal. No, in what was an eight-game taste against some of the best forwards in the world, what stood out the most were the goalies.
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Particularly, just how difficult it was to get a puck past them.
Which is why the 2021 No. 1 overall pick went into last summer with one goal in mind: improve a shot that didn’t exactly land him a passing grade in college.
“Scoring has been kind of a struggle for me the last couple of years,” Power, who managed two goals in each of his two seasons at the University of Michigan, said in a 1-on-1 interview with Postmedia. “I’m getting chances, just not putting them in. So being more accurate with the shots, getting them off quicker, different skating patterns to kind of help mess up the goalies, that’s what I’m working on.”
Welcome to the mindset of the modern-day defenceman.
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It is no longer good enough to prevent scoring chances and to be solid in your own end. After a season where Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar scored 28 goals and 86 points, Nashville’s Roman Josi had 23 goals and 96 points and Victor Hedman had 20 goals and 85 points, offence has become just as important — if not even more important — than defence.
“It’s such an interesting time for D-men,” Makar told Postmedia during the NHL’s player media tour in Las Vegas. “Nobody really anymore is just staying at the blue line.”
Power already seems to know this, which might explain why the Mississauga, Ont., native was still on the ice taking shots from all angles and areas nearly an hour after practice ended on Thursday.
“He’s a very intuitive guy and wherever there’s a lack of intuition, he supplements it very well with drive,” said Sabres head coach Don Granato. “I just walked by the bench while you guys were down here and he’s the only guy on the ice right now working on extra stuff. So he’s very determined to learn more. He’s a self-teacher, which is a beautiful thing for us as coaches. You always want guys to take initiative in that realm.
“I’m looking forward to watching him grow and probably grow at a fast rate.”
At 6-foot-6 and 213 pounds, chances are Power is done growing. But the 19-year-old is still adding different elements to his game. Most of them involve the offensive part of the game, where he’s stealing things from Hedman, who is the same size as him, but also Makar, Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes — specifically in how they use their feet to attack the offensive zone and create better scoring chances for themselves.
It’s not just Power who is trying to get more involved in the offence. Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, scored 13 goals last year — a significant upgrade from the five goals he had a year earlier.
“I also want to be more productive offensively,” said Dahlin. “It’s having more of a shooting mentality. I’ve been working on shooting the puck here and the puck there. I used to get stuck in certain situations, like I wanted the puck in a specific spot. But I have to be able to shoot from here and there and everywhere.”
Indeed, it’s not always about winding up and blasting a one-timer from the point, like Shea Weber used to do. Rather, it’s about acting more as a fourth forward, whether it’s joining the rush or sneaking below the opposing defence for a backdoor pass at the side of the net.
We saw a bit of that last season, with Power scoring twice in eight games. His first NHL goal came courtesy of an odd-man rush, where he took a pass from Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner and beat New Jersey’s Andrew Hammond on a quick wrister that he fired from within five feet of the net. His other goal was the result of jumping on a loose puck, which Power shovelled along the ice through traffic.
None of them will challenge Makar for goal of the year. But that’s not the point.
“At the end of the day, it’s just putting the puck in the back of the net,” said Power. “It’s being more confident around the net, having a better feel. I just want to come in here and make an impact and be the best possible player and have the best possible year that I can this year.”
When asked what the best possible year looks like for him, Power said it’s not about reaching specific goals or point totals or winning individual awards. But he did acknowledge that following in the footsteps of Makar and Detroit’s Moritz Seider, who claimed two of the past three Calder Trophies, makes it easier for a rookie defenceman to try and step in and make a difference right away.
“I think seeing guys like that do that helps with the confidence, knowing that it’s been happening a lot lately,” said Power. “Hopefully, I can be another one of those guys.”
mtraikos@postmedia.com
twitter.com/Michael_Traikos