Owen Power's first NHL game, shift-by-shift
The first overall pick in the 2021 draft made the Buffalo Sabres wait most of this season, but he definitely proved he was worth the wait in his first NHL career game
On a night when Owen Power made NHL history, he also made an outstanding first impression. The first No. 1 overall pick in NHL history to sign with his team in season, in the words of teammate Alex Tuch, “looked like a 10-year veteran out there.”
It was indeed an impressive performance. Five days after suffering a crushing defeat in the NCAA Frozen Four, Power made his debut on the Buffalo Sabres’ blueline in their 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night. He was poised, he was efficient, he did every little thing right and basically looked the way a No. 1 overall pick should look…150 games into his career. The Sabres have not had a lot to be excited for, oh, the past decade or so, but they do now. The oldest player on their blueline against the Leafs Tuesday night was 25-year-old Casey Fitzgerald, who was playing in his 30th NHL game.
But regardless of the result, this night was all about Owen Power. Are we looking at the next Aaron Ekblad, minus the injuries? Perhaps. There is no doubt he is going to be very, very good. Greatness is not out of the question. Heck, all he has to do is play every game the way he did the first of his career and he’ll be on a great path. Here was Power’s first night in the NHL, shift-by-shift, all 28 of them and 19:50 worth of ice time, along with commentary from him and others.
PRE-GAME WARMUP
Of course, Power skated out onto the ice at Scotiabank Arena by himself. It is a rite of passage for any player in his first game. It’s a corny tradition that NHL players have and, surprisingly, it never gets old. “I just didn’t want to fall,” Power said. “It was a pretty cool moment and it was fun. I was pretty calm, but there was definitely going to be nerves, but it wasn’t bad.”
SHIFT NO. 1 – 32 seconds
Sabres coach Don Granato makes the decision to put Power out for the first shift of the game, knowing that he’ll be welcomed to the NHL by facing the Maple Leafs’ top line of Auston Matthews between Michael Bunting and Mitch Marner. Power makes an immediate first impression, making a good outlet pass, then pinching along the boards before Matthews inadvertently puts the puck into the crowd to give the Sabres a power play.
“I have no doubt he’s rehearsed in his mind being in this building and this league many times,” Granato said, “and it looked like it. He looked very natural from the drop of the puck.”
SHIFT NO. 2 – 48 seconds
Power takes his first hit, courtesy of Leafs’ veteran Jason Spezza, and does a good marking John Tavares as he enters the offensive zone. Already you can tell Power is getting more comfortable and settling in after what was probably a nervous first shift.
SHIFT NO. 3 – 37 seconds
This one is a big one and the first indication we get of Power’s ability to think the game, particularly in the defensive zone. With the two sides playing 4-on-4, Power does a good job to keep the puck in and then cuts to the net to try for an offensive opportunity. He gets back in time to be the only man back on a 2-on-1 with Mark Giordano and Matthews bearing down on him. He wisely plays Giordano to pass, because Matthews is the best goalscorer in the world at the moment, reads it perfectly and calmly picks it off. “I knew Matthews was on the other side,” Power said. “I’ve watched all these guys play before, so I feel like I have a pretty good sense of their tendencies. At the end of the day, it’s just hockey.”
SHIFT NO. 4 – 56 seconds
After Kyle Okposo gives the Sabres a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal, Power goes out for another shift against the Matthews line. It’s clear Granato has no hesitation putting Power in that situation and has no intent to shield him from top competition, even in his first game. “Very comfortable,” Granato said. “And that’s not to say that mistakes won’t happen. I mean, you have Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and Tavares. We don’t fear the mistake. We know our guys are going to learn from it.”
SHIFT NO. 5 – 12 seconds
A short stint against the Maple Leafs’ third line. Not much happens, so it’s probably a good time to point out that 92-year-old Yvonne Power, Owen’s grandmother, is in the crowd for her first-ever game at Scotiabank Arena. She has been to games at Maple Leaf Gardens, “and I’m from St. Catharines, where the Leafs used to have their training camp.” Yvonne Power had 11 children, the youngest of whom is Zee, Owen’s father. Eight of Zee’s 10 siblings are at the game and many of her 44 other grandchildren are there as well.
SHIFT NO. 6 – 30 seconds
Power makes another nice outlet pass without any panic in his game, but on the zone entry by Marner, he blows a tire and falls down, leading to an offensive chance for the Leafs. “I think it was a good game,” Power said, “but I still think there is a lot of room to improve.
SHIFT NO. 7 – 54 seconds
Another defensive-zone start against the Matthews line, Power continues to acquit himself very well. The Sabres spend a lot of the shift in their own end, but Power has a really good gap on Matthews and thwarts one of his six shot attempts on the night. “It’s pretty cool,” Power said of going head-to-head with Matthews. “Someone I’ve watched since he’s been in the league and one of my favorite players to watch. He’s definitely impressive and it’s a just a lot of fun to be out there with him.”
SHIFT NO. 8 – 44 seconds
Another shift against Matthews in the defensive zone. If Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe is trying to capitalize on the matchup, it’s not working out so great.
SHIFT NO. 9 – 36 seconds
Even though he plays the left side naturally, he spends much of this shift on the right side with partner Henri Jokiharju jumping on first on the fly and taking the place of the left defenseman. Power doesn’t look even a bit out of place.
SHIFT NO. 10 – 25 seconds
Another good defensive play as Power lifts Spezza’s stick just as the puck is coming to him in front of the net, sending it harmlessly through the slot. He knows the front-net battles will be much more intense at this level and he seems ready for it, already knowing when it’s OK to crosscheck forwards in front of the net which, despite the NHL’s plans to crack down on that this season, is still most of the time.
SHIFT NO. 11 – 13 seconds
He finishes the first period with a short and uneventful shift.
SHIFT NO. 12 – 59 seconds
Power shows a lot of poise with the puck. At one point in the shift, he has the puck just inside the offensive blueline with Marner in pursuit, rather than make a quick play that could result in a turnover, Power instead simply exits the zone with the puck without forcing anything. “At the end of the day, it’s just hockey,” Power said, “just against better players.”
SHIFT NO. 13 – 44 seconds
Nothing special on this one, but the kid just looks as though he’s a veteran in the league with every move, every pass, every read. “Oh yeah. Smooth, poise,” said Sabres teammate Alex Tuch. “Right away, there’s no panic in his game. It feels like he’s been in the league 10 years already. It’s a really easy game out there for him.
SHIFT NO. 14 – 40 seconds
Power takes another hit from Spezza, a veteran who seems intent on rubbing him out and giving him a less-than-hospitable welcome to the NHL.
SHIFT NO. 15 – 1:01
Another defensive zone start against the Matthews line and while they get a chance, it isn’t a great one. To be fair, the give-a-crap meter for both Matthews and the Leafs seems a little low in this game. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the Sabres are good, bad or otherwise, they always play the Leafs hard. The Leafs have been particularly putrid against the Sabres this season, which must drive the coaches bonkers.
SHIFT NO. 16 – 56 seconds
Again, Power’s offensive instincts are on display. His decision to pinch in and pressure the puck leads to a Leaf turnover in the offensive zone and he makes a pass that Vinnie Hinestroza can’t handle. You get the sense Power wants to unleash himself, but is mindful that it’s his first NHL game. “I think I’m someone who likes to go as much as I can,” Power said. “But obviously you’ve got to manage that and sit back sometimes.”
SHIFT NO. 17 – 14 seconds
Up against the Matthews line once again, Power has his shift cut short by a Sabres’ penalty.
SHIFT NO. 18 – 30 seconds
Another short shift, but again Power shows his awareness. Pierre Engvall of the Leafs enters the zone on a rush and Power simply forces him to the outside to the boards and he has to get rid of the puck. “I know he’s put a lot of work in and he watches a lot of hockey,” Granato said. “These guys study the game as kids and it gives them that calm.”
SHIFT NO. 19 – 28 seconds
On his final shift of the second, Power has a battle along the boards with William Nylander and manages to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
SHIFT NO. 20 – 53 seconds
Power starts the third period and, to the surprise of no one, he is once again up against the Matthews line. By now, Power has hit his stride and looks like a veteran on the blueline. “We had that plan going in,” Granato said of his decision not to shelter Power. “We are not going to do that. We need these young guys to take this franchise over.”
SHIFT NO. 21 – 1:16
This might have been his hardest shift of the game. The Sabres are caught in their own end for the entire shift and Power is doing a good job of blocking lanes. At one point he ties up David Kampf behind the Sabres net.
SHIFT NO. 22 – Six seconds
Power gets the first plus of his career when he jumps on the ice just as Tuch breaks up a play and sends it back the other way before Jeff Skinner scores to make it 3-1.
SHIFT NO. 23 – 1:11
Another tough, but solid shift. On this one, Power is out on the penalty kill. At one point, Leafs rookie Nick Abruzzese, playing in just his fourth game, shoots from the slot. It’s stopped by Sabres goalie Craig Anderson and flutters in the air before Power bats it out of the air and out of danger.
SHIFT NO. 24 – 1:06
This is where he makes one of his rare mistakes on the night. After doing a good job of covering Ilya Mikheyev in front of the net, Power breaks out of the zone, only to have the puck get turned over and back to Mikheyev, who has a point-blank chance.
SHIFT NO. 25 – 1:36
Power’s longest shift of the night includes an icing with the Leafs’ net empty, which forces him to stay on the ice. He breaks up another play, this time on a Tavares zone entry. “He sees the ice really well, but he defends really well, too,” Tuch said. “He’s got a big, long stick and a big body so he can cover a lot of the ice.”
SHIFT NO. 26 – 44 seconds
An offensive zone start and Power has one of his only two shot attempts on the night.
SHIFT NO. 27 – 40 seconds
Power goes plus-2 on the night when the Sabres score into the empty net to make it 5-2. Once again, Granato is showing faith in him early, putting him out in an outmanned situation with the Leafs looking to score.
SHIFT NO. 28 – 22 seconds
Both teams are just playing out the clock at this point. Power has to feel good about the way he’s played this game. His coach certainly does. “It is super nice to see, I’ll tell you that,” Granato said. “Was I surprised? No. Was I happy? Extremely happy. Absolutely. Pretty excited to finally get him here.’
POST-GAME
After changing, Power goes up into the stands where there are at least 75 people waiting for him. They instantly break out into an ‘Ow-en Pow-er!’ chant and there are hugs all around. “I wasn’t expecting him to play that many minutes,” Zee said. “After his first two shifts, I knew he was good because he was relaxed out there. Before that, I was excited and nervous. But after that I could relax and watch the game because I knew he was comfortable.”
With the first game in the books, next on the docket is his first game in Buffalo Thursday night. The entourage will be there for that one, too. “Actually there will probably be more of us than this,” Zee said. “It’s a little easier to get tickets in Buffalo.”