Sabres select Mississauga defenseman Owen Power 1st in NHL draft
by The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
Posted Jul 23, 2021 8:36 pm EDT
Last Updated Jul 23, 2021 at 8:46 pm EDT
Canada s Owen Power controls the puck during the Ice Hockey World Championship semifinal match between the United States and Canada at the Arena in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, June 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
The Buffalo Sabres have picked defenceman Owen Power first overall in the NHL entry draft.
The six-foot-six, 213-pound blueliner from Mississauga, Ont., played at the University of Michigan last season, scoring three goals and adding 13 assists in 26 games during his freshman season before being selected to Team Canada for the men’s world hockey championships in May. He was the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked North American prospect.
Sabres pack a punch by picking Power first in NHL draft
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24/07/2021 - 04:20 The Buffalo Sabres used the first pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft to select Canada s Owen Power BRUCE BENNETT GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP 2 min
Los Angeles (AFP)
The Buffalo Sabres selected Canadian defenseman Owen Power with the first overall pick in the National Hockey League entry draft on Friday.
This is the second time in four years the Sabres have had the top pick and both times they used it to draft a big defenseman. In 2018, they selected Rasmus Dahlin.
The 18-year-old Power helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Championships in Latvia.
KXLY
July 23, 2021 5:27 PM
SEATTLE With their first ever draft pick the Seattle Kraken take Matthew Beniers, a Center from the University of Michigan as the number two overall pick in the 2021 National Hockey League Draft.
Beniers is said to be a do-it-all forward who totaled 24 points this year for Michigan in 24 games.
The Kraken are coming off their expansion draft Wednesday that gave them the current roster of the team. The Kraken now build the future through this year’s draft.
The Kraken will play their first preseason home game in their history in Spokane coming up September 26th in the Spokane Arena.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
A year ago, defenseman Owen Power was coping with the abrupt end of another strong Chicago Steel season and scrambling to stay in shape during the height of the pandemic.
‘‘I’ve just been trying to keep busy outside, whether it’s putting on the rollerblades, going for a skate, or playing volleyball or basketball with my siblings,’’ he told the Sun-Times in April 2020. ‘‘Anything, really. Just trying to stay active.’’
He evidently made it through the shutdown without losing his groove.
On Friday, the Sabres chose Power a Toronto-area native who spent two seasons with the Steel before starring at Michigan in 2020-21 with the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
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It was the ice hockey equivalent of a virtual debutante party.
The next generation of NHL stars took initial strides onto a global stage Friday night when the league held the first round of its annual selection process from myriad North American sites.
The draft was broadcast live on ESPN2 in Bristol, Connecticut, while NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman appeared from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Bettman pivoted to various team executives and personnel at their respective facilities for the actual picks, which were followed by the requisite reaction shots with the players and their families.
It was the second straight remote draft session for the NHL, though Bettman said the league will return to an in-person draft next year at the Bell Centre in Montreal.