NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Owen Power

Sabres.com is profiling some of the top available prospects in the days leading up to the 2021 NHL Draft, which begins with Round 1 on Friday, July 23 at 8 p.m. The Sabres hold the No. 1 pick.
Owen Power, LHD - University of Michigan (Big Ten)6-foot-6, 213 pounds2020-21: 26 GP, 3 G, 13 A, 16 P

Power is the No. 1 North American skater available according to NHL Central Scouting Services and sits atop most media draft rankings, including those of the four analysts who spoke with Brian Duff and Martin Biron for our Draft Show: *NHL.com's*Mike Morreale, ***Hockey Sense's* Chris Peters**, *The Athletic's*Corey Pronman, and ***Sportsnet's* Sam Cosentino**
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What makes Power unique is his combination of size, mobility, and poise. He was an impact player as a freshman at Michigan, earning selections to the Big Ten's All-Rookie and Second All-Star Teams. His stock only improved with his play at the World Championship, where he thrived as a big minutes player on a Canada team that won gold.

What they're saying

Morreale in his final mock draft:
"The Sabres can't go wrong with the projected best player in the draft, a big presence with good vision, strength, hockey IQ and who has the look of a first-pair NHL defenseman. In addition to his offensive skill, he led Michigan with 40 blocked shots. Power would be the first Michigan player to go No. 1 in the NHL Draft."
NHL CSS director Dan Marr to NHL.com:
"Owen Power is at the top of this draft class as he is the best at his position. His game presence displayed NHL skills and attributes, and his game continued to mature and impact throughout the season."
Michigan teammate and fellow draft-eligible prospect Kent Johnson:
"I could definitely sing his praises all day. I mean, right when I got to Michigan I could tell how special he was and it was just really fun to be able to train with that guy every day. And then, yeah, World Championships, it wasn't too surprising to me to see what he did. I remember watching the first period of the game and being like, 'Come on, they got to get this guy out more.'"

What he's saying

On his plans for next season:

"I wouldn't say I'm committed to going back to school. I mean, I'm probably leaning towards it right now but that's obviously something that I have to talk to with whatever team drafts me. So, it will kind of be something I look into more once I get drafted. I think the World Championship was good for me to kind of see where I was at when playing with pros or playing against pros so I think it gave me a bit of a better idea of how ready I was to play pro hockey."
On which NHL player he tries to emulate:
"I think probably my favorite guy to watch is Victor Hedman. … I think we just got similar attributes with our size and our skating, so I think just how good he is defensively in closing gaps and killing plays is something that I really watch and try and put in my game and then obviously he's real good offensively and on the power play."