First Overall Pick Owen Power To Stay At School This Season

Like we stated two days ago in our prospect piece on the Buffalo Sabres, Owen Power will in fact be playing hockey next season with the University of Michigan. Buffalo just selected him with the first pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Breaking: Sabres No. 1 draft pick Owen Power is returning to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, a source told The Buffalo News. @umichhockey https://t.co/6elVLOuJWG
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) August 19, 2021

Although it would have been exciting to see Power start his NHL career now, there is no harm with him working on his craft in college again. In 26 games this past season with Michigan, he scored three goals and had 16 points. He was also dominant with the USHL's Chicago Steel the season before, as he had 12 goals and 40 points in 45 games.

The 6'6" defenseman is heavily praised for his quick speed and fantastic passing ability, so he should only get better from here. It also does not hurt that he is already a very imposing figure on the ice, too.

There is no secret that the Sabres are going to have another hard year. With the losses of Sam Reinhart, Linus Ullmark and Rasmus Ristolainen, they are honestly worse. They also are expected to trade disgruntled captain Jack Eichel as well. Therefore, it may be a good thing that Power is not joining the team right away. This could be a historically bad season in Buffalo.

Power has the potential to be a top-pair defenseman, so Buffalo fans should be excited about having him. They likely just have to wait one more season for him to make his debut.