Zman5778
Moderator
I've said it before -- a better Jay Bouwmeester. He doesn't have that one elite eye-poppingly trait, but he does everything to a high level.
Player Discussion Owen Power, LD (1st overall, 2021) Gentle Giant
- Thread starter LastWordArmy
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I've said it before -- a better Jay Bouwmeester. He doesn't have that one elite eye-poppingly trait, but he does everything to a high level.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I would say that his skating+stick handling ability at that size is an eye-popping trait.
He still has a ton of growth left and you can already see him turning into a crazy blend of Dahlin & Thompson.
Bendium
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- Oct 18, 2019
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Totally agree. There are no 20 year old bodies that are built for and mature enough to handle the playtime he is getting for 82 games. He still needs 2-4 years to get there.
My big concern of overplaying a developing player, is that when you are fatigued, no matter how much effort you put in, your technique will get sloppy, and you narrow your tools to help you survive and get thru it. At this point I don't want him practicing sloppy technique. I want him practicing sharp technique and adding tools to his game.
Bryson, Pilut, Fitzgerald, Clague are names that will not be part of our core, or part of a serious playoff team bottom 3. So all of them need to be replaced. No reason to wait on that.
Power is awesome. He's a f***ing workhorse.
He'll clean up the D-zone stuff. Fans should be fixated on the fact that he's so in control of the game at 20 years old. That's his no. 1 overall talent.
He'll clean up the D-zone stuff. Fans should be fixated on the fact that he's so in control of the game at 20 years old. That's his no. 1 overall talent.
Bendium
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I think the first thing to realize is that he not the same type of defenseman as Dahlin. I do not expect the same offensive numbers from him. Just my view, but I see a much more well rounded "does it all well" top pairing guy. If your looking for elite traits, there is his obvious size, he potentially has elite patience and calm with the puck in the d-zone, and he has shown potentially elite breakout passing. Pairing him with another big 2-way guy who likes to carry the puck out of the zone instead of pass it, could give you a true playoff #1 pair that can do it all.
If you don’t see it, then that might be a you problem.
We’re hoping he turns into a franchise-level player…and he’s showing signs he can do it
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Owen Power is top 5 in the entire NHL in EV TOI/GP as a rookie.
On a team with Rasmus Dahlin.
Don Granato sees it and plenty of other people see it, too.
Fjordy
Never lost a fair game or played one
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Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I don't think so. The challenge is that he doesn't have a Samuelsson-like D partner to unlock him.
Zman5778
Moderator
I think both statements are true to a point.
Power is routinely being asked to play 20+ min per game.......and it certainly showed over the weekend. He looks tired.
PLUS
While Joker has been a steady partner for Power when healthy, I'm not sure he's the RIGHT long-term partner. I think if Power had a Sammy-like guy, his offense would open up more.
But they're not mutually exclusive issues.
Aladyyn
they praying for the death of a rockstar
I think Boosh was brought in to be exactly that in the short term, but obviously injuries threw a wrench in that. Not to beat a dead horse but it would be nice to have Borgen rn.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Power looking tired could be a natural rookie adjustment period as he moves from the NCAA to the NHL and not merely because of his big workload.
The wall is frequently in the new year, a month to 6 weeks from now. His workload being what it is makes it easy to see a path to the heavy minutes and then the slip in his play.
Zman5778
Moderator
I think it's a combo of both. If we had a fully functional top 7, I'd be advocating giving him 12/23 and 12/27 off so he could get a full 5-7 days of rest over Xmas.
Hell, given that 12/23 is against Tampa......I might still be for it. Giving Power a full week off might be more important long-term than punting one game against Tampa.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Granato has not been afraid to put the kids in the press box. If Power needs a night off, I trust that Don will give it to him.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Its only his first year too... I didn't expect him to be this good right away gonna just keep getting better too.
WhereAreTheCookies
Registered User
It's surprising he hasn't collected more points with how good he's been for them 5v5.
Zman5778
Moderator
I think he'd have a metric ass-ton of tertiary assists if they gave them out. Seems like he's the one making the outlet pass that initiates a ton of chances......even if/when the puck gets passed a few times.
ValJamesDuex
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- Nov 4, 2021
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Sound_n_Fury
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I hope as he gets stronger and fills out that his shot improves. Right now, it wouldn't break a pane of glass. He has no confidence in it against NHL goalies.
RecycledEichel
Out with the old...
The longer he is out, the more he can rest his body and come out stronger for the rest of the season. I just hope our team can weather the storm until then, however long that is.
Who is watching him and saying he has no elite traits? His brain is elite. As good as any dman and it is packaged in a 6’6 frame with good skating and puck skills.
That criteria is very small although he looks like he has an elite sense for his position amongst the league
