Power joins Sabres in Tampa, looks ahead to NHL debut

TAMPA - Owen Power showed up on Don Granato's radar at a minor hockey tournament more than four years ago. Granato was there to watch Jack Hughes, another future first-overall pick.
A member of the Maple Leafs front office whom Granato had previously worked with convinced him to check out the Mississauga defenseman on the neighboring rink.
"He said, 'Hey, you'll like watching this kid. Hop over to the other rink in about five minutes,'" Granato recalled Sunday. "He was right, I did. I tracked him pretty much from there."

Granato and Power both found themselves in Chicago the following year, Granato as an assistant coach with the Blackhawks and Power in the USHL with the Chicago Steel. Granato attended Steel practices to check in on the defenseman he had watched in Toronto.
"He's done a lot of things over the last many years to get ready for his first NHL game, just from watching him play," Granato said.
That time will come Tuesday night in Toronto. Power is expected to make his NHL debut against the Maple Leafs in Scotiabank Arena, where he attended games growing up.
The defenseman will be given a chance to acclimate to his new surroundings in the meantime. He joined the Sabres on an off day in Tampa on Saturday, less than 24 hours after signing his three-year, entry-level contract. He will watch the team take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night.
Granato will allow Power to lean on his years of preparation rather than risk overloading him with information. His message to the defenseman on Sunday was simply to soak in the experience.
"I think just being myself is kind of the biggest message," Power said.

Power has the benefit of experience in major tournaments playing with and against NHL-caliber talent. His play earned him more than 20 minutes of ice time per game at both the IIHF World Championship last May and at the Beijing Olympics in February.
He has teammates to lean on, many of whom reached out when he signed his contract.
Granato specifically pointed to Rasmus Dahlin - a No. 1 pick himself who has taken on the role of alternate captain in his fourth season - as a player who will provide guidance for the 19-year-old.
"This is a dream," Granato said. "Having a defenseman of this caliber and having a guy like Rasmus here to mentor and be alongside of him is a huge bonus.
"… To have that kind of a peer in that guy that's been under the pressure cooker and everybody has such lofty expectations for, Ras has lived it. He has experience through that. And he's a guy that loves the Sabres, so I think it's an unbelievable situation."

The Sabres will have eight games remaining beginning with Power's debut in Toronto. It will be a time for Power to acclimate to the speed and physicality of hockey's highest level and for the coaches to test him in various spots in the lineup. (Power is a left shot but has experience playing the right side).
"I think he's well prepared for it," Granato said. "The pregame skate today, the practice tomorrow is just an opportunity for him to calibrate to get a little bit more familiar with the pace at this level. That's what the games are going to be for him down the stretch here."
Power plans to take his coach's advice and keep things simple.
"Go out there and play and have fun," he said. "I know I'm obviously going to have to work to get in the lineup every night but I think just kind of go out here and have fun and get adjusted."