Power named to NHL All-Rookie Team

Owen Power has been named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team for the 2022-23 season, the league announced Monday.

Power is joined by fellow defenseman Jake Sanderson, forwards Matty Beniers, Wyatt Johnston and Matias Maccelli, and goaltender Stuart Skinner. He is the 10th player in Sabres history to earn an All-Rookie selection and the first since Victor Olofsson in 2019-20.

Power was also a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year. Beniers, his teammate at the University of Michigan, won the award Monday night.

Power, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, shouldered minutes at an historic rate for a 20-year-old defenseman in the NHL. His average 5-on-5 ice time (19:46) ranked second among all NHL skaters and was the highest mark by a rookie since the NHL began tracking the statistic in 2009-10.

Power's average even-strength ice time (20:44) was also the most by a rookie since the league began tracking that statistic in 1997-98.

Power ranked third among NHL rookies in assists (31) and tied for eighth in points (35). Those numbers led rookie defensemen, while his four goals were tied for first. He ranked third among all rookies with a plus-10 rating and fourth among rookie defensemen with a 5-on-5 shot-attempts percentage of 52.2.

The Sabres generated 74.41 expected goals when Power was on the ice at 5-on-5, first among rookies by nearly 20 (according to Natural Stat Trick).

"He does so much out there that he doesn't get credit for," Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, an All-Rookie selection in 2018-19, said.

"He's always at the right spot at the right time. He barely makes any mistakes. He never gets tired playing that way. It just looks like he's floating around there but he's so smart. He's always at the right spot. He can log even more minutes I think because the way he plays. It's fun to watch."

Power became the first rookie defenseman in Sabres history to score goals in three straight games beginning with his overtime winner in Dallas on January 23. He became the sixth rookie defenseman in franchise history to tally three assists in a game against Detroit on April 6.

"Owen doesn't tighten up in pressure situations," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "So, if the other guy does because it's more pressure, if the clock's winding down and he flinches first, Owen's probably going to take advantage of that. And that's what great players do.

"… So, I do feel the biggest part of his game is - and why he's been able to play in the NHL at a very young age is - he doesn't feel pressure like other players do. There's a lot of reasons for that. But that's the essence of it."