Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres have locked up the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft to his entry-level contract.
The team announced on Friday it has signed defenseman Owen Power to his three-year entry-level contract. It is expected for Power to join the Sabres for the final handful of games for the 2021-22 season, which will burn the first the first year of his deal.
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams says Power will likely join the team in Tampa Bay on Saturday, and it's possible he will make his National Hockey League debut on Tuesday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
The Mississauga, Ontario native just had his college hockey season wrap up on Thursday after his University of Michigan Wolverines lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the University of Denver Pioneers in the Frozen Four.
Power has spent the past two seasons playing in Ann Arbor, where he played 59 games for the Wolverines, scoring six goals and 42 assists for 48 points. This season saw the 19-year-old nearly finish his sophomore year as a point-per-game player with 32 points (3+29) in 33 games played.
After a freshman season at Michigan that saw the 6-foot-6 defenseman produce 16 points (3+13) in 26 games, the Sabres made Power the first overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Just before joining the Wolverines, Power was a force on the blue line in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel. The two-way defenseman finished his 2019-20 pandemic-shortened season with 12 goals and 28 assists in 45 games. His 40 points on the season was tops in the league for defensemen, and helped him earn honors as the USHL Defenseman of the Year.
The Sabres have already announced that Power will wear the No. 25.
Aside from his size at 6-foot-6 and 214 pounds, Power is a very solid defender at both ends of the ice, and uses his vision and hockey IQ to his advantage with the puck on his stick.
Power now joins a defensive group in Buffalo that already consists of players like Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, Mattias Samuelsson, Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald.
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams is expected to speak with the media at 4 p.m. ET on Friday to address the signing of Power, as his team is set to take on the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. ET in Sunrise.
Bringing Power to the 716 ⚡️#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/2o3BQOnPNc
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 8, 2022
